Return to a galaxy not so far away nor so long ago
by jediryu
Summary: The rift has reopened, a diplomatic mission sent, and our heroes meet once more. The sequel to my first Star Wars/Star Trek: TNG crossover. Constructive reviews are always welcome.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note:_

_All Star Trek, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager characters, _

_belong to Gene Roddenberry and Paramount Pictures._

_All Star Wars Characters belong to George Lucas._

_All Street Fighter references belong to Capcom._

_I don't own them; I'm just borrowing them for a little while_

_so please don't sue._

_This story is AU._

**Return to a galaxy not so far away, nor so long ago**

**By**

**jediryu ©**

**Chapter One**

**LOCATION: **_Classified_

**STARDATE:**_ Classified_

**MISSION PARAMETERS:**_ Classified_

The deep space observation probe sat in the void of space, anchored by its mission programming and by appropriate use of its station-keeping thrusters to offset stellar drift. Fueled by taking in stellar deuterium and an ultra-miniaturized warp core would keep the probe functional almost indefinitely. It stored data in a memory bank unlike any other in existence. It could dump its entire data-stream into a subspace priority channel only once if the onboard sensor suite detected the appropriate disturbance in the local time-space, or indefinitely downloaded by way of a tight-beam transmission to a passing survey vessel with the appropriate code clearance. The technology that allowed this had been reverse-engineered from captured hardware from another galaxy.

Required by program to run a Level 3 diagnostic once a day, Level 2 once a week and Level 1 once a month to ensure proper function; it had been on-station for several years and had just finished its monthly Level 1 diagnostic when every measuring device it carried spiked and recorded a rift opening in the local time-space.

The rift itself was only visible in certain spectrums and was recorded as such. Visual scanners picked up a shape that appeared to be coming out of warp. The shape was triangular, a uniform shade of haze gray and measured a colossal 1600 meters long. Within 5 seconds of the shape coming out of warp, the probe identified its shape and probable function as identical to what it had been programmed to look for. 3 seconds after arriving at the logical conclusion of its data, it dumped its entire data-stream into subspace, on the priority channel. 1 second after doing this, its warp core overloaded and the probe self-destructed as per its instructions.

Aboard the command level of the Imperial Class, Star Destroyer Redemption, a scanner tech looked up into the face of his Commanding Officer and said, "It must have been a probe of some kind sir. We didn't hit it with anything so it must have self-destructed. It's a good bet the Federation knows we're here." The officer in question looked up from the crewpit and gazed out through the transparisteel viewport with eyes of steel-gray, "Thank you for the report. Blast! I was hoping we'd have a chance to use it as a booster. Oh well. The Force be with us, I hope the Federation doesn't misinterpret our arrival."

The Executive Officer, a blue-skinned, jet black hair and red-eyed Chiss was military through and through. "Any orders Master? Shall we have the crews stand-by their fighters or power up our weapons?" The robed man swept his arms from in front of him to behind his back to clasp his hands as he turned to face his XO. The two lightsabers on his belt swung in time to the shift of their owner's body and said, "No, that won't be necessary Mr. Mythril. The Force tells me we have time yet; and I don't want to alarm any welcoming committee that may arrive by having our weapons hot. Hold position here for now but do have the fighters begin patrols out to three parsecs or so. Two-man teams will be sufficient for now. I'll be in my quarters meditating if I'm needed. Call me the moment we get a solid sensor hit on anything the size of, or larger than the measurements that Creak gave you at the main mission briefing." Mythril nodded to the departing figure, "Aye-aye Master Rau."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Many light years away, the starship Enterprise, NCC-1701 E, was in the middle of its shake-down cruise. Moving along at smooth-as-silk Full Impulse, only recently released from dry-dock after several months of repair and refit after the pounding that Shinzon had given it. All systems were responding well. Commander Laforge was sitting the mid-watch tonight so that he could oversee a detailed series of diagnostics and system simulations that were best run in the middle of ship's night so that there would be minimal crew disruptions.

The bridge was so quiet, the hum and buzz of panels, pads, and other systems so muted that the sound of an incoming priority communication rang out like an opera diva's final note. The El-aurian crewman, a young ensign on his first assignment out of Academy practically jumped a half-meter in the air at his station. Geordi stood up from the Captain's chair where he had been seated and looked at the startled junior officer. Quietly, to himself he mused, "_Was I ever that young?_" Out loud he said, "What do you have Ensign Ross?" Ensign Ross started to speak when his voice cracked unexpectedly. He cleared his throat and said, "Commander Laforge, I've just received a Captain's Channel Priority transmission, Captain Picard's Eyes Only. But for the address header, it's heavily encrypted. Any orders sir?"

Laforge sternly said, "What else Ensign? Call the Captain and inform him immediately." The ensign's face fell and he involuntarily squeaked, "Me?" Geordi looked squarely at the young ensign a moment longer and then chuckled loudly. "Sorry Ensign Ross, I couldn't resist the chance. I'll call the Captain but do keep in mind for your future reference; a ship's captain is on call 24/7, 365 days a year regardless of the time. If you want to sit center seat someday yourself, always remember that." The ensign regained his composure and said, "Thank you for the object lesson sir. I'll remember it." Geordi looked up at the audio pick-up and said, "Commander Laforge to Captain Picard . . ."

Jean-Luc Picard woke up instantly at the sound of the comm. and sat up in bed. Decades of command experience had taught him how to go from sound asleep to instant wakefulness. "Picard here, go ahead Commander." Laforge said, I'm sorry to disturb you sir, but you've just received a Captain's Channel Priority transmission. Your Eyes Only." Picard swung his feet to the floor and stood up. Grabbing a robe that Beverly had given him, he tied the sash around his waist and walked to his desk. "That's alright Geordi. Put it through down here please."

As Picard sat down at his desk, his terminal activated with a wave of his hand. The Federation of Planets Seal came onscreen. He said, "Computer, decrypt Captain's Priority Channel Transmission, clearance Picard ST321. Code Clearance Blue." The computer's feminine voice answered, "Decrypting, please stand-by." Moments later, Admiral Janeway came onscreen. She too appeared to have been awakened from a sound sleep. "Jean-Luc, sorry to get you out of bed at this ungodly time. About an hour ago, Starfleet Command received a priority signal from a deep space observation probe. Have a look at its last visual transmission before it self-destructed."

The screen changed over to a starfield with various readouts and data streaming along the bottom of the screen as an object came into the foreground and seemed to run forever as it widened into a triangular hull configuration that Picard would never forget, a shade of haze gray that elicited an involuntary shiver from him and finally ended with the nozzles of three large engine ports at full burn. The picture dissolved into static and Janeway's face came back onscreen. Before he was even aware of it he cursed in French, "Merde!" Janeway nodded in agreement. "My thoughts exactly Jean-Luc; as of now 0338 hours, the Enterprise will suspend its shakedown cruise and go to full-active duty. You will wait at your current location to be joined by Captain Riker-Troi and the Titan and myself on the Voyager. Together we'll form the lead element of a taskforce to determine what purpose the Ragnorak has in coming back through the rift that brought Jedi Rau to us originally. The Titan will be my next call and Voyager is currently at Vulcan but can pick me up on its way to meet up with you and Riker-Troi."

"Understood Admiral, but you do remember Mr. Worf's original tactical evaluation of the Ragnorak? That it would be Wolf 359 again if Warlord Regis decides to attack?" Janeway nodded, "I do indeed Jean-Luc. Starfleet is prepared to request assistance from the Romulans, courtesy of our new peace treaty and the Klingons as well. I've been told that Starfleet won't decide one way or the other until we can report back. I realize from Mr. Worf's evaluation that even the three of us together probably couldn't stop Regis so it will be imperative that one of us gets away to report, even if it means abandoning the other two. Hopefully though, that won't be the case."

Picard nodded his head in understanding. "In the words of our friend Armis Rau, if this is an attack, May the Force be with us all Admiral. We'll be waiting for you and Captain Riker-Troi." Janeway said, "If I understand the reference correctly, May the Force be with us indeed Captain Picard. Janeway out." The Federation Seal came onscreen again as Picard turned off the terminal and sent the command of All Stop to Geordi on the bridge. He sat back in his seat. Beverly was leaning against the frame of the doorway to their bedroom as her soft voice said, "Problems Jean-Luc?" Picard looked deeply into the eyes of his friend and lover, "I honestly don't know Beverly. Until Will Riker and Admiral Janeway get here, there's nothing to be done about it." He got up from his desk and said, "This may be our last chance to get any sleep for some time so I think we shouldn't waste it." The two kissed and returned to their bed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Five days later, the starships Enterprise, Titan and Voyager sat in close proximity like the spokes of a gigantic wheel, their bows facing each other around a communal center. Picard stood in the Transporter room as the pads activated and his former first officer and counselor materialized. Riker and Troi smiled hugely at the sight of their former commanding officer. Riker shook Picard's hand and said, "It's great to see you Captain. I'm looking forward to working with you again." Deanna Troi stepped forward next and gave Picard a hug and kiss on the cheek, "Captain, I sense that you no longer suffer from things unrequited. Professionally, I think it's the mentally healthiest thing you've done in a long, long time. Personally, I have to say it's about damn time you two stopped hiding your feelings for each other." Silence reigned supreme for all of two seconds before the three former comrades broke into fits of laughter all around.

Picard recovered first, "I'm glad my former counselor thinks so. Beverly and I are fine too. How are you two?" Riker spoke then, "Everything is fine. The Titan is shaping up to be a great ship. I think very soon now, we'll be giving you a run for your gold-pressed latinum for 'Best ship in the Fleet'. Sometimes we both still miss the Enterprise but I'm glad I took this assignment." Picard nodded, "I understand perfectly Will. Now to the business at hand; Admiral Janeway and Captain Chakotay came aboard about fifteen minutes ago and the Admiral wants to get the briefing started without delay."

Five minutes later, Captain Picard entered the briefing room just behind Riker and Troi. Admiral Janeway and Captain Chakotay were laughing over a shared memory. Chakotay stood first and extended his hand to Riker. "Captain Riker. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Riker returned the handshake, "The feeling is mutual Captain Chakotay." Riker nodded towards Admiral Janeway and took his seat as Deanna shook Chakotay's and Janeway's hands respectively and sat next to him. Even though Janeway was senior officer present, it was still Picard's ship so he sat at the head of the table.

Janeway spoke, "Now that we're all here, let's review the observation data and your reports on your initial meeting with Jedi Rau and Warlord Regis so that we can all be up to speed and ready to plot our course in this matter. Counselor Troi, we'll start with you if you don't mind." Deanna nodded and said, "I never met Warlord Regis in person, but the initial reaction I received the one time I saw him over the viewscreen was of a man who would stop at practically nothing to accomplish his mission. Failing that, he's a survivor and not above finding a scapegoat if needed. At the time we met him, Regis was focused on Armis whom we had aboard the Enterprise D at the time. Armis asked to be let off the ship so that Regis wouldn't destroy us to get to him but Captain Picard refused, saying that he wasn't in the practice of surrendering persons who had Sanctuary aboard his ship. Regis didn't want to take the time to destroy us so he fired on the Enterprise and continued his search elsewhere. The damage we sustained from only those few hits was terrifying. I don't even want to speculate on what would have happened to us if Regis had fired on us with a full barrage."

Riker took up the narrative at this point. "Lucky for us, Armis was on the bridge at the time, out of range of the visual pick-up and using the Force gave us enough warning for me to order the shields up. Even then, the damage we sustained was immense. Two shots from that Star Destroyer were enough to overload the shields on a Galaxy class starship. Even then, one of those shots was largely deflected by the simple physics of direction of fire against energy shields. If those two shots had been on target, over 1000 men, women and children would be just so much dust in the stellar wind. Regis left us to die. Only the quick actions of Mr. Data were enough to circumvent a total system failure. Even then, Regis wasn't done with us. He came back about a day and a half later or so and attempted to board us and find Armis the hard way."

Picard spoke next, "I was out of commission with two broken limbs and internal injuries. Mr. Rau, along with Counselor Troi helped get me to Sickbay and there I stayed until just before Armis left us to jump back through the rift that brought him to us. The after-action reports I read before making my own summation of them clearly stated that Armis Rau was instrumental in saving the ship. First, by helping give Commander Riker the warning of incoming fire even before our sensors could, second, by assisting everyone he could help during the initial clean up phase. I even read about a couple of bulkheads that he had to cut through with his lightsaber to help free trapped crew and third, by helping defend the ship from the stormtrooper boarding party that came aboard to find him and further by accepting the surrender of those few stormtroopers who survived. I'm told that if they had set off all of their personal munitions, it could have compromised the structural integrity of several decks, not to mention the attendant loss of life that would have resulted as well."

Janeway nodded her head in understanding as Chakotay asked, "What can you tell us about this Armis Rau from your personal observations?"

Deanna spoke again, "He was truly selfless in his actions. From what he told us of the Force and what it could do for someone trained in its use, he could have quite possibly taken over the ship for himself, but he didn't. He was courteous and polite, even when I tried a direct empathic reading of him. He abided by our rules at all times and even tried to pay Guinan for services rendered in Ten-Forward." Riker spoke up again, "From what Dr. Crusher told us later at a briefing, he might very well have overextended himself and died trying to ease all the pain and suffering after Regis's attack. He set Geordi Laforge's dislocated arm, quick healed Deanna's ribs and nose, helped get the Captain to sickbay by levitating him in the air and I saw him give a short prayer of some kind over the body of our helmsmen on the bridge who had broken his neck in the attack." Picard spoke now, "According to Mr. Worf's report, Armis was also an accomplished leader and fighter. If anything, our Security personnel were in _his_ way when the stormtroopers boarded. He took command of a detachment of Security and led them quite effectively and directly saved some of their lives in hand-to-hand combat."

Chakotay nodded his head. Janeway spoke, "Thank you all for that. It makes me wish I could have met him. At any rate, what are your recommendations for fighting that ship of Regis's?" Picard said, "I think you should let me call in Mr. Worf for that. He would be the best qualified I think for a Tactical evaluation of that nature." When Janeway nodded her permission, Picard said, "Picard to Number One." A moment later, "Worf here Captain. How can I help you?" Picard answered back, "Number One, would you please join us in the main briefing room. Admiral Janeway would like a Tactical evaluation; one I think you would be best able to give." Worf answered, "Understood Captain. I'm on my way. Worf out."

A few minutes later, Worf walked into the briefing room. Janeway said, "Commander Worf . . . thank you for joining us so quickly. Do you remember the Star Destroyer commanded by Warlord Regis?" When he nodded, Janeway said, "How would you fight it then?" Without skipping a beat, Worf answered, "With a thousand ships and more firepower than I've ever heard of. Lacking that, I think the best way would be to divide and conquer. With your permission Admiral, I would like to use the briefing table's holo-pod to illustrate my point." Janeway said, "Please do Commander."

Worf walked over to the monitor on the wall; entered some commands and the built-in holo-pod in the briefing room table came to life with an image of the Star Destroyer. "As I indicated in my initial report with the information that Jedi Rau gave me, the Imperial Class Star Destroyer has a crew complement of 5000 people as well as a separate detachment of ground and air/space forces, total number of approximately 37,085. It is armed with 60 turbolasers, 40 point defense laser cannons, 60 ion cannons and 10 tractor beam generators and shielding to rival anything we have, except on a planetary scale. Of the 60 turbolasers, 4 batteries fire in the forward arc, 4 to the port and 4 to starboard. With regards to its point defense laser cannons, 2 batteries fire to the forward arc, 3 fire to port and 3 fire to starboard. Shall I go on Admiral?" Janeway's mouth closed with an audible snap and said, "That will be enough of the specific detail Commander, thank you. From what you've just said though, I think I understand your reference to divide and conquer. It sounds like the best chance our three ships have, would be to attack from above, below and behind all at the same time. Is that correct Commander Worf?" Worf said, "Not entirely Admiral. Do not forget that it carries an entire complement of fighters as well. From the information that Jedi Rau gave me, a Star Destroyer is a multi-faceted vessel capable of being outfitted with specific mission goals or general ones, hence the starfighter complement on board. If we can commit to and successfully perform hit and run tactics, we _might_ and I stress _might_ survive the day by evading the fighters. If we attempt a head-to-head battle, all I can say is that it will be a good day to die because _we will lose_."

Three days and many planning sessions later, the three starships sat in a wedge formation preparing to make the final jump into the area. Activity aboard each vessel had been hectic to say the least. Shields, weapons and engines were fine-tuned and made ready for battle. Crews not at battle stations stood ready to form damage control parties. On the bridge of the Enterprise, Picard sat his station. Outwardly calm, inside equal parts scared and excited. Excited to be able to fight with his ship; scared for his crew and his fellow starship captains and their people. The main viewscreen was divided into three parts. One part each on Captain Riker aboard the Titan, Admiral Janeway aboard the Voyager and the bottom of the screen in Tactical mode. Worf looked up from the panel at his station as Number One, and said, "Captain, all stations report ready, all weapons armed." Picard said, "Understood Mr. Worf. Admiral Janeway, Captain Riker, we're ready whenever you are."

Janeway looked to the screen directly after getting a report from Chakotay, "Very well Captain Picard. On my mark we'll go to warp speed together and after returning to realspace, we'll reform into Attack Pattern, Khitomer 1 and give Warlord Regis a reason to leave our galaxy altogether. Janeway to strikeforce, jump to warp in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . mark!"

The three starships jumped to warp as one.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Jedi Master Armis Rau emerged from the turbolift onto the command deck of the Star Destroyer Redemption a full second before the alarm klaxons roared their warning tones. He had foreseen this exact moment only the day before. Commander Mythril stood his place between the two crewpits, a few paces from the transparisteel viewports; a solid breakwater of stone in a sea of storm-like activity.

As Armis walked up to him, Mythril spared him a glance and said, "Master Rau, we have three unidentified contacts bearing down on us from .35 relative and forming into a battle formation of some kind. Our scans show their shields are up and weapons charged. All three contacts have a hull configuration similar to the Enterprise D, but only one of them bears the name, but with an 'E'. The other two hull configurations have the names Voyager and Titan respectively. What are your orders at this time?" Armis looked out the windows and saw three small dots speeding in towards the ship at what could only be attack speed. "Keep our shields down and hail them immediately. If they fire on us before communication can be established, you are to use _ion_ cannons only. We have come in peace though they clearly don't know it yet. We will not start a war due to itchy trigger manipulators."

Mythril said, "I understand the orders Master Rau but they have clearly come expecting a fight. Shouldn't we be prepared to match firepower with firepower though?" Armis' eyes stayed on the three shapes that were coming closer by the second. "Mr. Mythril, I truly do appreciate your concern; and while it would be valid in almost any other situation, it is not the appropriate action in this one. You have your orders." Mythril nodded his raven haired head once, "Aye-aye sir."

Aboard the Enterprise, the crewman at Tactical stated, "Captain Picard, we're receiving a hailing signal and sensors show that the shields are still down and only the ion cannons are charged at this time. As a matter of fact sir, the hail is requesting visual holographic communications." Picard performed a quick double check of the readings from the Tactical station on the miniature display at his seat. "Hail Admiral Janeway at once!" he said. Moments later, the Admiral's face was onscreen. Picard said, "Admiral, we've just received a hail from the Star Destroyer and our sensors show that only their ion cannons are charged at this time."

Janeway said, "We have the same readings over here except for the hailing signal. Strikeforce, all-stop!" Within moments the three starships sat motionless in the void halfway into their attack pattern. After receiving confirmation of her order, she said, "Do you think this could be a trap Captain Picard?" Picard shook his head, "To be honest Admiral, I don't know what to think at this exact moment. In our first encounter, Regis wasn't exactly cordial." At that moment, Deanna came onscreen from the Titan, "Admiral, Captain, I'm sorry to interrupt but I'm not sensing any hostility at all. I can just barely sense the crew aboard that ship and a very familiar blank spot in the center of it all. I don't think this situation is what it appears to be at all."

Janeway listened and said, "Thank you Counselor. Captain Picard, since the hail is to your ship directly; I'll defer to your prior experience in this matter. But I would appreciate being given a holo-feed from your communications so I can observe." Picard turned to Worf, "Make it so Number One." In mere moments, Worf had the relay set up and turned to Picard, "Ready sir." Picard stood up from his seat, stepped into the holo-emitter field and said, "Open hailing frequencies."

There was a flicker of static as a lone figure appeared. Instead of the military uniform he was expecting, Picard saw a lone figure in some kind of robes, his hands clearly clasped behind his back. The face came into focus and though a little older than the first time he met him, Picard would have recognized the red hair and steel gray eyes even before the pair of lightsabers on his belt. "Jedi Rau! This is a truly unexpected pleasure! How wonderful to see you again!"

The smile on Armis's face was genuine as he said, "Captain Picard! I was hoping we would speak again before too much time had passed. I confess some surprise at the show of force though. While I have foreseen this day, I didn't expect it to be in the form of you in command of a battle group. Speaking of which, shouldn't you be an Admiral by now? I don't imagine that a Captain, even one as well traveled as you would rate a three element attack force."

Picard smiled again, "Actually Armis, I'm just part of the group. I've turned down more offers of joining the Admiralty than I can count on both hands. As to the show of force, when our probe sent back images of your vessel, it was assumed that Warlord Regis had returned for some reason or other. We had come to dissuade him of any plans of conquest. I'm glad that it is not the case here. Let me open up this channel so you can meet the actual commanding officer of our group. Please standby."

Before Picard could issue the order, Worf said, "Already opening the channel now sir." Picard stepped out of the holo-emitter field and resumed his seat as Admiral Janeway's holo-image appeared. "Greetings Jedi Rau; I am Admiral Janeway. On behalf of Starfleet Command and the United Federation of Planets, I bid you welcome back to our galaxy. I apologize for the misunderstanding that brought us here ready to destroy your ship." Armis nodded, "It's a pleasure to meet you Admiral Janeway. I am Armis Rau, Jedi Master; I'm on a diplomatic mission to negotiate an alliance between the New Republic, the Imperial Remnant and the United Federation of Planets and I can understand your show of force perfectly Admiral. What's important though is that no shots were exchanged between us. With that in mind, I'd like to invite you, Captain Picard, the captain of the Titan and your executive staffs to dinner aboard my vessel, the Redemption, tonight, if it's convenient."

Janeway said, "Tonight would be more than convenient Master Rau. When should we beam over?" Armis pursed his lips before speaking. "If it's not a breech of any protocols Admiral, those I am helping to represent in this matter, are for now, uncomfortable with your matter-energy transport system. They would appreciate if you would come aboard in shuttlecraft. Our V.I.P. landing bay, the smaller of the two aboard the Redemption, is more than adequate to receive you. We'll provide an honor guard of escort fighters. Is that acceptable?" Janeway said, "More than acceptable Master Rau. We measure our day in increments of 24 hours. Would an arrival of 1900 hours local space-time be appropriate?" Armis said, "We already have something in common Admiral. We too measure our days in increments of 24 hours. 1900 local will be perfect. Your honor guard will be in orbit of the Enterprise by 1830 local. I look forward to seeing you all then. Star Destroyer Redemption, out."

As Armis's image disappeared, so too did Janeway's only to reappear on the viewscreen. "Strikeforce, stand down all offensive systems at this time. All ships will close in to 5000 kilometers off the Redemption's bow. Captain Picard, Captain Riker, it looks like we'll get to dust off our Diplomatic Dress uniforms tonight. Please bring Mr. Worf with you Captain Picard. Counselor Troi, I think it best if you accompany your husband in place of his First Officer. Captain Chakotay and I, Captain Riker and Counselor Troi will beam over to the Enterprise no later than 1830 to shuttle over to the Redemption. Until then gentlemen; Janeway out." As the main viewscreen returned to the starfield ahead, Picard gave the order for full impulse and saw the Redemption already begin to grow larger on the screen. Picard stood and said, "Commander Laforge to the Bridge." Turning to Worf he said, "As soon as Geordi gets here Worf, you're relieved. You and I need to prepare for our dinner engagement." Worf said, "Aye-aye Captain."

As the Starfleet vessels took up station-keeping 5000 kilometers off the Redemption's bow, a crewperson aboard the Titan shivered. For a moment, Chief Michelle Karú thought she heard someone whispering to her. Looking around and seeing nobody else in the corridor, she dismissed it as nerves and the dissipating adrenaline rush of averted battle. She usually worked on the night shift but due to the anticipated combat, all shifts had been active. Now, with combat systems being returned to normal, all shifts would resume normal operations. She had just enough time to return to her quarters and take a nap before her regular shift would start. As she got back to her room and prepared to lie down, she wondered if the dream would come again. In it, she was awakened by her door chime. Getting up to answer, the door opened and she saw the silhouette of a man holding an exquisitely carved box out to her and saying, "This is for you Cousin." The dream was always the same. The man was always a silhouette and she couldn't see his face. She knew that she was in no danger from him though. Something about him spoke to her deep down in her mind. The strangest part was that of the few members of her family who had joined Starfleet, they were far, far away. She had a cousin on Deep Space Nine, another working directly at Starfleet Command in San Francisco and a sibling teaching at the Academy.

Before lying down, Michelle viewed the Message one last time. The Message had been passed down in her family for generations; mother to daughter, father to son. Generation by generation the capsule had been passed down. Its power cell had been recharged and replaced beyond count. The outer casing was carbon scored and slightly pitted in places. She had been told as her mother before her and her mother's mother before that, that when the day came, the Message would finally make sense. She opened an access panel and entered the proper sequence. A holo-image of a wedding appeared first. After the ceremony concluded, a man perhaps 1.8 meters tall, roughly 5'10" in the old measurement appeared. He had military short, brown hair and a dark brown goatee on his chin. Wearing a suit of black in a strange cut and some kind of cylinder resting on his left hip; he had eyes of hazel and was handsome in a quiet, unassuming way. She had been told he was an uncle of hers, several generations removed. Three hundred years, give or take a decade; or so she had been told. The Message started, "Dear Sister, allow me to introduce you to my wife Gabrielle . . ."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

At exactly 1845 local time, the shuttle carrying Admiral Janeway, Captains Picard, Riker and Chakotay, Counselor Troi and Commander Worf departed the Enterprise for the short flight to the Redemption. As soon as the shuttle's course was laid in, the escort fighters took up their stations around it. Janeway turned to Picard in her seat and said, "What do you make of our escorts Jean-Luc?" Picard looked over the sensor readings and what he could see through the cockpit window and said, "Quite an eclectic flight group I must say. The X-Wing I recognize because that was what Armis was flying in when we first picked him up. The TIE Fighter I recognize from the after-action reports that Will Riker, Worf and Geordi filed. As for the rest, according to the files we got from the captured hardware of Regis's, they are an A-Wing, B-Wing, Y-Wing, a TIE Interceptor, a TIE Bomber and a TIE Defender.

Chakotay said, "I remember reading up on the scans that Commander Laforge took of the X-Wing and the captured TIE Fighters. I was thoroughly impressed by their hardware specifications. All that firepower wrapped up in so small a craft shouldn't be possible but somehow, for the galaxy that Master Rau comes from, its old technology that has managed to keep pace with the rest of their science but for the occasional refit. We're lucky if we can get twenty years of service life from a front-line starship. To think that they have vessels flying around that have quite literally been in service for a generation or more is almost mind boggling."

Riker and Deanna chuckled at this comment. Chakotay turned to face them with a questioning look. Riker said, "No disrespect intended Captain Chakotay, Deanna and I were just thinking what Data would have made of a thought like that is all. Picard smiled then and said, "Too true Will; too true. I'm sure he would have calculated the odds to the tenth decimal point or so, just like he used to after he first joined us for the Farpoint mission. Chakotay said, "I understand now. No offense taken Captain Riker; now that I think about it, Data and Seven might have had a truly fascinating discussion over that." Silence reigned for the last few minutes of the flight when the comm-panel lit up. The pilot activated it to receive the landing instructions, "Starfleet shuttle, this is Redemption Flight Ops, standby for landing. Place your vessel in a linear alignment with the flashing signal straight ahead of you and ensure you have equilateral clearance to port, starboard, fore and aft. After acquiring position, shut down your primary engines and go to attitude thrusters. After clearing the docking bay ledge, follow the landing tech's signals to a landing. Welcome aboard. Redemption Flight Ops out."

Five minutes later, the shuttle gently touched down in the precise center of the landing grid, as per instructions and shut down its systems. As the shuttle's aft hatch began to lower, Picard stood, gave an unconscious tug on the hem of his dress uniform and took up a position on Janeway's right side as second senior officer. Chakotay stood to her left while Riker took up position behind and to her right, Worf behind and to the left, and Deanna on Riker's right. As the shuttle hatch finished opening, the group was greeted by an arrangement on each side of a length of red carpet of New Republic troopers and Imperial Remnant Stormtroopers in alternating places. The New Republic Troopers were dressed in black boots, gray pants and shirt with a black vest over the shirt and oval white helmet with raised blast shield. The Stormtroopers were in their standard white armor. Both sets of soldiers held their weapons at port arms directly in front of them, each piece of armor or accessory was polished clean and bright.

At the head of the honor guard stood Armis Rau, an unfamiliar blue-skinned officer next to him and a few others behind them including some droids. As Janeway stepped down onto the carpet a voice came over the intercom, "Now arriving, Commander United Federation of Planets strikefore, Admiral Janeway, now arriving Commander U.S.S. Voyager, Captain Chakotay, now arriving, Commander U.S.S. Enterprise, Captain Picard, now arriving, Commander U.S.S. Titan, Captain Riker. The four commanding officers, followed by their respective subordinate officers walked down the carpet in a measured pace neither too fast or too slow. At the end of the carpet, Janeway extended her hand which Armis accepted in a firm grip.

Meeting each person's eyes as he spoke Armis said, "Welcome aboard the Star Destroyer Redemption Admiral Janeway, Captain Picard, and Captain Chakotay. Congratulations to you Captain Riker; and congratulations to you Commander Worf." Each person expressed their gratitude to the warm welcome. Armis spoke again, "Allow me to introduce you to my Executive Officer, Commander Mythril." Mythril gave a click of his heels and short nod to the group. Also, I'd like you to meet my good friend and fellow Jedi, Ryu Jayks. He's the son of my teacher, Ronin Jayks whom I mentioned to you back when we first met Captain Picard." At the introduction, a man stepped forward. He was tall, 6'0", in the old measurement and wore a red headband across his forehead and tied in the back to keep his light brown, semi-shaggy hair out of his hazel eyes. He wore a neatly trimmed goatee on his chin and wore a perfectly tailored suit of black pants and top, lightsaber hanging on its hook at his left hip. Behind him could be seen Armis's droid Creak and another droid, this one with an inverted flowerpot of a head, standing next to Ryu Jayks.

Admiral Janeway said, "Thank you for the magnificent welcome aboard your ship Master Rau. Rarely have I seen its like anywhere in the Federation. I sincerely hope with all my heart that this will usher in a time of great cooperation and learning between our three societies." Armis nodded and smiled as he said, "I can sense your sincerity Admiral. I too hope this marks a great beginning for our peoples. Would you like a tour of the ship? Or would you prefer dinner first and then a tour?" Janeway said, "I think a tour would be a perfect start. Captains; do you concur?"

Picard, Riker and Chakotay all nodded agreement. Armis said, "With your permission Admiral Janeway, I'll let Captain Picard dismiss the honor guard." When she nodded, all eyes turned to him. Picard felt himself start to blush. Before he could politely decline, Armis said, "Captain Picard, I can sense your willingness so please don't try to decline." Picard mentally swore to himself, he _did_ want to dismiss the troops though he wasn't an infantry man by inclination or training. Clearing his throat, he called out in an unexpected, sharp staccato tone, "DETACHMENT . . . _STAND-DOWN!"_

Both rows of troops executed a beautiful about-face in exact time and marched out of the V.I.P. bay. Picard wondered to himself, "_Where did that come from?_" The same thought echoed through the minds of the Starfleet personnel who knew Picard best though no one else knew it at the time. Armis motioned with an arm, "This way please. I'll be happy to lead the tour myself."

As the tour began, by unspoken agreement, Picard, Riker, Troi and Worf all gathered with Armis, while Janeway, Chakotay and Ryu accompanied Mythril with the droids following. Picard spoke, "When did you become a Jedi Master, Armis? From what you told us of the structure of the Jedi Order, it usually takes many years before a Jedi is raised to Mastery. I'm also curious in that I see two lightsabers on your belt." Armis said, "After I returned to my galaxy, I had to play tag with Regis for a time before I caught up with the joint New Republic/Imperial Remnant taskforce whose mission was to stop him. Regis was so focused on me that he jumped right into the trap. He was arrested, tried and imprisoned. Shortly thereafter, he committed suicide in prison. The Ragnorak was recommissioned into the Redemption and added to the joint taskforce. It's been quite a few years since then. I undertook several missions for Luke Skywalker, the head of the reconstituted Jedi Council. In that time, I've learned how to commune with my father, Cestus Rau, who died when I was still a teenager. It may be hard for you to believe, but my father had become so strong with the Force that he was able to retain his identity in it after his physical body died. My father gave me additional training in the use of two lightsaber combat. After Master Skywalker saw my proficiency and listened to my story, he raised me to Master rank about two years ago or so now. Since then, I've been responsible for a task that started as a conversation between my Master, Ronin Jayks and Master Skywalker several years ago."

While Picard cogitated this, Riker said, "I won't pretend to understand how you can speak with your Father, but that is flat out amazing that you can. What task have you been working on then Armis?" Armis said, "As the tale was related to me, it seems that several years ago, before Master Ronin died, when he first met Master Skywalker, Ronin said to him that if there had been several Jedi Temples spread out across the galaxy instead of only one, on Coruscant, the Emperor probably wouldn't have been able to find them all and destroy them. Hindsight as the say is 20/20. I agree with my teacher's thought on this. So I and a few others have been traveling around the galaxy starting Jedi Temples. Some large, some small, some hidden, others in plain sight; each with its own database of recovered Jedi Lore that Ryu's adopted brother, Dieter Jayks-Bree helped find and restore. Only a few of us know where they're all at. This way, if ever another Emperor comes to power, the Jedi of that time and place will have at their disposal, the tools and knowledge necessary to end his or her rule before another eighteen years of darkness, blood and suffering can elapse.

Deanna spoke now, "Armis, just how long has it been for you since we first met on the Enterprise D?" Armis thought a moment and said, "For me it's been about ten years or so. Why do you ask? How long has it been for you?" Deanna said, "From our perspective, it's only been about seven years. I guess time passes differently for our galaxies." Armis nodded, "It seems you're right but it's not so bad. When you think about the possible permutations to the space-time continuum, it could have been decades or even longer between our meetings." Addressing Captain Picard, Armis said, "Please tell me what's been happening for you and your people."

Picard said, "Where to begin? So much has happened since we met you Armis. A few years after our meeting, the Federation was involved in a fearsome war with the Dominion, an empire built by a race of shape-shifting changelings from the Gamma quadrant. After the Dominion War ended, the Enterprise D was destroyed on a mission and the Enterprise E built to succeed her. We've had to face down the Borg queen when she attempted to go back in time and stop humanity's first contact with an extraterrestrial race. That was a close thing. We've also helped to root out a conspiracy within Starfleet to displace a gentle race of humans whose planet has rings of incredibly rare radiation. The radiation extends their lifespan by centuries. From there, we entered into formal peace negotiations with the Romulan Star Empire after their Praetor died trying to use a clone of me for a failed espionage mission. On that mission, Data sacrificed his life to stop Shinzon's superweapon. Will Riker and Deanna were married and he went on to command the Titan, Worf formally transferred back to the Enterprise from Deep Space Nine and was promoted to my Executive Officer after Will Riker's original replacement found the Enterprise not to his liking and requested transfer elsewhere."

Questions and answers alike flowed between the Starfleet personnel and Armis or Mythril for the remainder of the tour. Afterwards, the group went to the Flag Conference Room and sat down to a sumptuous dinner of several courses. During dinner, Picard unconsciously performed a wine test. He said, "This wine is elegant. Where does it come from?" Armis said, "It comes from Ryu Jayk's homeworld, a former colony, now a New Republic Territory. It's one of New Hope's staple exports and has found quite a following in both the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant." By dinner's end, the Starfleet personnel were conversing with Armis and Ryu like old friends with the slightly taciturn Commander Mythril looking on. Over the dessert course Armis asked Deanna, "Have you given any thought to beginning your studies to become a Jedi, Deanna?" She laughed lightly and said, "I had almost forgotten about that Armis. Will and I need to talk it over. I'll get back to you though." Armis nodded. Turning back to Janeway, he said, "Admiral, on our side of the rift, a scientific station and trade hub will be built so that vessels can come and go freely if these negotiations come to the successful close that I foresee if we continue as we are. Will the Federation be able to do likewise?"

Janeway said, "The decision is not solely mine but my report will go a long ways towards it though. As to building a station or some such, time will tell." Picard said, "Admiral, do you think that the Cardassians would be interested in selling their abandoned station Empak Nor to us? I would imagine that the financial arrangement would be very helpful to their economy." Janeway said, "They might be interested at that. Commander Worf, I've read over several of the reports from Deep Space Nine. Do you think Chief O'Brian would be interested in heading up that project, if it goes through?"

Worf looked over at the Admiral from his conversation with Mythril and said, "If Chief O'Brian is ordered to, he will do so of course. Otherwise I think the human phrase 'Not a snowball's chance in hell', would be his most likely answer. Even though he had worked out most of the interface problems between the Cardassian, Bajoran and Federation hardware and software by the time I reported for duty aboard DS9, he was and still is plagued by the occasional glitch or programming conflict. It might be more cost and labor effective to build our own station after all, if this alliance comes to fruition." Janeway nodded in understanding. Then she said, "Excellent points Commander Worf, I'll be sure to include them in my report to Starfleet. For now though, it might be for the best to get someone out here from the Diplomatic Corps."

Ryu, who had had little to contribute to the conversation to this point, asked Riker, "Captain Riker, as soon as it's convenient for you, I need to go to your ship. The Force is telling me that I need to go there very soon. Can it be arranged?" Rider said, "I don't see why not. Can you be more specific though? Is it something that I should worry about as the Captain of the Titan?" Ryu said, "Not at all. I feel that there is something over there, calling to me. It's very hard to put into words. I'm sorry I can't be as specific as you'd like." Riker smiled, "Don't worry Mr. Jayks. Being married to an empathic woman as I am, I regularly encounter situations like yours." Deanna playfully slapped her husband's shoulder and said, "You've never complained Imzadi." As Riker smiled at his wife, attention was drawn back to the head of the table where Janeway, Picard and Armis were sitting. Armis said, "Admiral, I can't think of anyone better suited to the duties of Ambassador-at-large than Captain Picard."

Elsewhere, many, many light years away, Miles O'Brian sneezed. Rubbing his nose, he mused to himself, "Oh no. As Keiko would say, someone must be talking about me somewhere," and went back to troubleshooting the panel he was working on while mentally cursing yet another interface glitch between the Cardassian, Bajoran and Federation hardware.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Picard was speechless. Admiral Janeway mulled the idea over for a moment and said, "Why not indeed Jean-Luc? Naturally, it's up to Starfleet Command and you of course." Picard took a sip of wine to gather his thoughts and said, "I'm flattered beyond words Armis, but surely you would prefer a career diplomat. While I have made several first contact missions and helped negotiate several treaties, it was simply the only available option at the time."

Admiral Janeway spoke, "Don't be so modest Jean-Luc. You have been instrumental on numerous occasions in helping preserve the Federation itself. I believe it a logical next step in your career. Of course, if you do this, you'll have to accept a long overdue promotion to the Admiralty." Picard said, "My duties to the Enterprise . . . ", Janeway cut off his objection, "Can be delegated to another. That's why the Chain of Command exists in the first place. I'm sure you've been contemplating a competent officer to succeed you." Picard dropped his gaze a moment before looking at her again and addressing her, "I'll admit, on occasion, I have thought of retiring and taking over my family's vineyards in France but then I think about the advice a good friend gave me some time ago with regards to promotion."

Janeway asked, "What did this friend say to you Jean-Luc?" Picard took another sip of wine and said, "He told me 'Don't let them promote you, don't let them transfer you. Don't let them do anything that will take you away from the bridge, because while you're there, you can make a difference.' I took this advice to heart because he was right." Armis spoke now, "Ah but you _can_ make a difference Captain. Where I come from, we have over six million known forms of communication." Picard stammered, "S-six _million?!"_ Armis continued, "The Galactic Senate on the capital planet Coruscant has over one thousand member worlds and just as many territories and protectorates between them. _You_, Jean-Luc Picard would be the Federation's first Ambassador to the Galactic Senate. I imagine that of the many reasons you joined Starfleet at least one of them had to be to seek out new life and new civilization; to boldly go where no one has gone before. Truly, this opportunity is the quintessential stuff of that reason."

Picard closed his mouth with an audible snap as he digested what Armis just said and knew himself interested. Hell, more than interested. He could almost feel himself chomping at an imaginary bit. The worlds to visit, the people to meet, the customs and languages to encounter. He felt his pulse jump at the very thought of being the first Starfleet officer to see and hear and meet and see everything Armis just spoke of. "Let me think about it and seek the counsel of those I trust most for guidance." Armis felt in the Force that Picard was already half-way to accepting but said nothing of it. He did say, "Take all the time you need. The rift has become stable on my side and will remain so according to the scientific community charged with studying it. I can understand any hesitation you may feel Captain. The Force tells me you would be ideally suited to this but I also understand your larger responsibilities to Starfleet, your ship and your crew. I will not think less of you if you decline. I just want you to know that the offer is open if you are interested."

About an hour later, Armis and Ryu led the Starfleet officers back to the V.I.P. bay as that Commander Mythril had returned to the command deck. Everyone got back aboard the shuttle as Janeway thanked Armis again for the wonderful meal and conversation. Picard hung back a moment. He shook Armis's hand and said, "Again, I'm honored by your offer and I _will_ think about it. We'll talk again soon Armis." Armis said, "May the Force be with Captain Picard. I look forward to our next meeting."

Picard got back aboard the shuttle and it departed a few minutes later. On the return trip to the Enterprise, the fighter wing from before formed up around the shuttle and escorted it back to the Enterprise. Back aboard, after escorting Janeway, Chakotay, Riker and Troi to the transporter room and bidding Commander Worf goodnight, a weary Jean-Luc Picard made his way back to his quarters, took off his dress uniform and hung it back up in the closet he shared with Beverly who was still on duty in Sickbay. After changing into his favorite off-duty pants and shirt, Picard sat down in his lounger and tried to read for a time but found it too hard to concentrate because his mind kept mulling over the offer made to him by Armis. When he felt his mental wheels spinning in place and going nowhere, he decided to place a call and get some advice.

As he sat down at his desk to place his call, Picard performed some mental math and found that it would be early afternoon for the person he was about to call and gave a million thanks to the subspace communication network that allowed for real-time communication with almost any part of the Federation. The screen lit up and the face of James T. Kirk appeared. He said, "Good to see you again Jean-Luc! You caught me just as I walked in the door, good timing." Picard said, "I can call back later if it's more convenient Jim." Kirk said, "Now is a good a time as any. What's on your mind?" Picard smiled tiredly and said, "Do you remember the conversation we had in the Nexus? When you told me that I should never leave the bridge for as long as I make a difference?" Kirk said, "Of course I do. What's going on Jean-Luc? Now that I really notice it, you look to be on the horns of a dilemma." Picard said, "How right you are. I'm still happy with my command of the Enterprise and I know I can still make a difference out here but I've been made an offer, a very tempting offer that would require me to leave the Enterprise, leave command and accept promotion but this offer will still let me make a difference. I am truly confused right now. Would you help me by playing devil's advocate?" Kirk smiled the smile that broke so many hearts or equivalent circulatory organs and said, "Happy to help Jean-Luc. Fire away."

Later, as Beverly came off duty in sickbay and entered the quarters she shared with Jean-Luc to find him sitting in his lounger, listening to some music. The book he was reading lay across his chest as that he was sound asleep. Ever so gently, she took the book from his hands and set it on the end table next to him. Walking softly across the room, she got a light afghan from the couch against the wall and draped it gently across the man she loved and then sat down on the floor for a time and watched him sleep. He seemed at peace somehow and she didn't want to disturb him, so she just sat there and watched him sleep for a time before turning off the lights and going to bed herself.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Two days later, aboard the Titan, the transporter cycle ended and Ryu Jayks stood on the platform looking around. He'd been told that the process would be instantaneous but that hadn't stopped him from trying to see in between during transport. He was wearing an outfit that to an earthly practitioner of the martial arts would be called a gi jacket tucked into a pair of hakama pants, a pair of simple shoes that appeared almost slipper-like and a red headband around his forehead tied in the back to help keep his slightly shaggy hair out of his eyes. Around his waist was a simple utility belt with his lightsaber on its hook and tucked under his arm was a hand-carved and highly polished, wooden case that he himself made in the months following his father's passing into the Force. The simple task had eased the ache in his heart where his father and mother had been and helped him move through his grief. Next to him on the platform was his father's R5 unit who had passed into Ryu's ownership. The droid had been renamed Warbler by Ryu's father because his droid language reminded him of the songbirds on his homeworld.

Deanna stood at the foot of the platform in her standard life-sciences blue, uniform of the day with her Commander's rank pips on the collar glinting dully in the light. "Welcome aboard the Titan, Jedi Ryu. Captain Riker sends his compliments and asks that you accompany me to the bridge if it's convenient." Ryu looked to her and stepped off the platform and shook her hand. "It's an honor to be here Commander Troi. Allow me to introduce you to my companion, Warbler. He was my father's before mine and chose to accompany me after my father passed into the Force. But before I go to the bridge, I need to find someone aboard your ship. I have something for them."

Deanna said, "Hello there Warbler. It's nice to meet you. Welcome aboard." Warbler returned the greeting to Deanna. She continued, "Maybe I can help you Jedi Ryu? It is a big ship. It's laid out differently than the Enterprise and getting lost is easier done than you might think." Ryu said, "Thank you Commander. Armis told me that I should speak with you anyway so this greatly simplifies things." Deanna smiled again and said, "You may call me Deanna if you like. Titles aren't that important to me." Ryu smiled back and said, "Then call me Ryu, Deanna. Like you, titles don't mean much to me either. Armis said that if I should encounter you, this would be a great time to give you your first lesson in the Force; to better aid in your decision of whether or not to start your training."

Deanna said, "I'm game. I cleared my schedule when I found out you were coming aboard." Ryu's eyes seemed to gaze into space a moment and when he refocused he said, "Not to be rude Deanna, but may I meet you on the bridge in two hours? The Force is telling me that the person I must find is waiting though they don't know it yet." Deanna nodded her head and said, "That will be fine Ryu. Captain Riker had an I/O port like the one Armis had made on the Enterprise D for his droid Creak. It's right over here on the wall. You can have Warbler plug in and get a basic schematic of the ship so you can get around easier. I'll see you on the bridge in two hours then." Deanna left the transporter room leaving Ryu and Warbler with the transporter operator.

With a short gesture, Ryu levitated Warbler to the deck. He pointed to the I/O jack and said, "Plug in please Warbler." The transporter operator looked on in undisguised fascination as the droid rolled over on its two main legs and its retractable third leg, extended an implement, plugged in and started to download faster than anything the crewman had ever seen before. In mere moments, the droid was done, unplugged from the jack and accompanied its human companion out the door. The crewman said to himself, "Just when I thought I'd seen it all; and to think, my parents said joining Starfleet was a mistake. I can hardly wait to see their faces if this alliance goes through and more of these droids start appearing." Chuckling to himself he went back to his work.

Ryu walked the corridors of the Titan. Using the Force like a compass, pointing him to his destination; whatever and whoever it might be. _So_ many minds aboard the ship; human and clearly alien to him; to himself, he said, "_Armis was right. It's amazing. The Force is moving in so many ways. I haven't felt this many currents in the Force since my first gathering in the rebuilt Jedi Temple on Coruscant_." For his part, Ryu was largely oblivious to the looks his attire and his droid drew from passing crewmembers. "What do you think Warbler? Do you think the Titan could find uses for other droids?" Like his father before him, Ryu understood Warbler's droid language through the Force when Warbler said, "Most definitely Ryu. When I was getting the schematic of the ship, the main computer wanted to talk to me, but I had to politely decline for now. Seems the Titan, Voyager and Enterprise had already finished exchanging gossip. I would've enjoyed talking with it but this task you're on is really important to you. I can tell."

Ryu chuckled and said, "You know me too well my friend. I'm very glad you chose to stay with the family after my father died. Your presence has been invaluable, your friendship beyond measure to me." Warbler gave the binary equivalent of humble embarrassment as he said, "I worked with your father for many years. He was the best organic partner I've ever worked with. Besides, _someone_ has to keep you out of trouble since your father went into eternal sleep mode." Ryu smiled in fond memory of his father and all that he had taught him, his brother Dieter and Armis too. In the back of his mind, the Force warned Ryu that he had picked up some company that practically radiated concerned confusion.

The pair of Security officers had just come on duty and missed the message from the Captain about the visitor that day. This was why they had been following the strangely dressed man and his strange companion for the last deck or so as he seemed to wander the corridors talking out loud to himself. They saw the stranger stiffen as he became aware of their presence. Taking their phasers from their holsters and setting them to heavy stun they approached him. Ryu could sense they meant him no intentional harm and surmised that they had not been made aware of his visit. He mused to himself, "_Deanna did say it was a big ship and like all big ships, it has its own bureaucracy. I guess the message just got lost."_

Ryu stopped in the corridor, turned to face the Security officers and said, "Is there a problem? You've been following me for some time now. How can I help you?" The Security officer on the right said, "We need to see your authorization to be wandering the corridors." Ryu gently motioned with his fingers and said, "You don't need to see my authorization. You should call Commander Troi. She'll explain my visit." Both Security officers' eyes glazed over as the one who had spoken before said, "We don't need to see your authorization. We'll contact Commander Troi. I'm sure she can explain your visit." Ryu said, "You've done your duty well. Have a good day." The Security officers said, "We've done our duty. Have a good day sir." Turning around, they both walked back the direction they came while replacing their phasers in their holsters."

Refocusing in the Force, Ryu found he was nearing his destination. When he got to the door the nameplate read 'Chief Michelle Karú'. And pressed the announcer button.

Michelle woke up on the second tone from her door. It was the middle of her normal sleep cycle and she was always disoriented when awoken unexpectedly. She got out of bed and put a robe on and tied it around her waist as she blearily went to the door. She mumbled, "Open." When the door did so, she saw the silhouette of a man. She couldn't see his face but instinctively felt that she was in no danger from him. He held a beautiful wooden box out to her and said, "This is for you Cousin."

The first thought to enter her sleep-fogged brain was, _"The dream unfolds . . ."_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

As soon as Ryu made eye contact with the disheveled young woman, the Force made the connection. He held out the box to her and said, "This is for you Cousin." Michelle was finally waking up as the silhouette held out the box to her. Taking it from his hands she said, "Lights . . . medium intensity." As her room lighting came up slowly, she finally saw the silhouette for the man it was. At first, she didn't know what to make of his attire or his face but then started to see in his facial structure similarities that she couldn't explain. As she stepped back into her room, Michelle said, "Come in please." When he did and the door closed behind him and his squat, clearly intelligent companion, she said, "I'm sorry, you must have me mixed up with someone else. Very few of my overall family have entered Starfleet. I have two cousins and an older brother in Starfleet but no one else."

Ryu said, "Search your feelings and you'll know it to be true. Although I can't explain it any better than you at this time, we _are _cousins, you and I; and the Force has brought us together; here, now at this time and in this place." Something about his words touched something deep in Michelle's psyche. Doing like he said, she looked within. All her life, Michelle had always been told to listen to her gut. She'd also been told of a deeper family connection with the mind and its capabilities. She remembered all the times as a little girl, playing with her friends and extended family. Hide and seek had always been her favorite. Especially because even when she knew her eyes were closed and she had her head down she could still 'see' things sometimes. She always found her playmates. As she got older, this 'othersight' as she called it, had come to her whenever she needed guidance most, when she would let go her conscious self and act on instinct.

After entering Starfleet, she had excelled in all the physical and team-building aspects of her training especially in all the self-defense classes she'd had to attend. She had displayed an almost empathic sense at times. She had tested and placed in the upper mental group of her class. A long and fruitful career had been predicted for her. She'd even been offered a place on the Command Track for she had a talent for working with people and bringing out their best as well as her own. Somehow though, she knew her path lay not in Command but behind the scenes, making things happen and so she had stayed enlisted. As she looked further within, she did feel something she'd only felt a few times before and only with members of her immediate family; specifically, her mother, brother and sisters. This tenuous link seemed to flare brightly as she focused on it. She said, "I know, somehow, I've always known; even when this moment was no more than a dream before."

Ryu nodded and said, "What you are feeling is what the Jedi, of which I am one, and you can be too, call the Force." Michelle said questioningly, "The Force?" Ryu nodded again and said, "The Force is what gives the Jedi their power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us and binds the galaxy together." Michelle somehow understood every word and knew them to be as true as his first statement. She said, "Who are you? You say we are cousins and I can somehow feel the truth in that statement but we've never met before this moment."

Ryu said, "Forgive me cousin, I was swept up in the moment. My name is Ryu Jayks. My father's name was Ronin. He told me once that he had come to the galaxy I call home from somewhere else. That I had family elsewhere; that someday we might meet, if the Force willed it and I guess it has." Michelle said, "There's a story that's been passed down in my family for so long it's practically become legend. My several generations removed, great Grandmother on my mother's side had a younger brother. He lived on Earth, like all of humanity at the time. This Uncle of mine was given access to a great power and the means in which to explore this power. He went away to learn how to use it, came back for a short time and left again saying that he would never be able to return but that even though he had taken on new name, he was still family. He even sent a message that has also been passed down in my family for generations. Let me show you."

Michelle set the box Ryu had given her on the table in the main living area of her quarters and went into her bedroom. She came back five minutes later having changed into something a little more comfortable than a robe and nightgown. She was carrying a capsule of some kind in her hands. Handing it to Ryu, he looked it over. Seeing the carbon scoring and feeling the pitting under his hands he said, "This is a standard Rebellion Era message capsule. Where did you get it and why is it so beat up?" Michelle said, "According to the story I was told, it came to our family early in the twenty-first century, long before warp speed, the Federation, extraterrestrial contact and even before Starfleet itself. By the old earth calendar, it is now the twenty-fourth century. That capsule has been in my family for three hundred years!"

Turning it over in his hands again, Ryu found the access panel and entered the code that he had found in his father's notes. Michelle was too shocked to speak when he activated it. The hologram appeared as before, of the man with the hazel eyes, brown hair and goatee. The message started, "Dear Sister, allow me to introduce you to my wife Gabrielle . . ."

Several minutes later, after the message had concluded, Ryu's eyes burned with fresh tears at seeing his parents in their prime again. Michelle asked, "What is it Ryu? What's wrong?" Ryu sniffed and wiped his eyes as he said, "Nothing's wrong Michelle. This just confirms what the Force has told us both. The man in this message, he's my father, your uncle. The younger brother of your several generations removed great grandmother." Michelle's eyes grew wide, "But how?! This message is three hundred years old to me, yet to you, your father, its maker, is recent memory to you!" Ryu said, "I overheard Armis speaking with Deanna Troi the other night at dinner that time seems to pass differently between our galaxies. The Force is sometimes quite mysterious but I'm willing to accept it. If you have any more doubts, maybe this can put them to rest." Turning to Warbler, he said, "Warbler, please play the hologram recording of my parent's wedding."

After still more minutes and another hologram, this one in better shape and able to show more detail than the one in the message capsule, Michelle said, "My family always said to follow my gut and its saying to go with you on this. Where do we go from here?" Ryu pointed at the box and said, "Open it Michelle." As Michelle lifted the lid of the shiny box, she pulled aside a soft cloth and saw two slightly rectangular objects similar in length to the one on Ryu's belt. Both had a slight curve in the handle and similar decorative touches. She held her hand over the one on top, then to the one on the bottom, then back again to the first and removed it from its custom fitted slot in the box. She looked it over, marveling at the handiwork and feel of it in her hand. It felt like it belonged there. It felt like it had been waiting just for her. Holding it out from her, she touched a button on the side and a bright red blade, the color of a sunrise on earth, sprang into life from the handle with a sharp _snap-hiss._

Giving it a few short swings side to side and hearing it hum as it cut the air gave Michelle a sense of completion that until that moment, she didn't know she was lacking. "What is it? It's beautiful." Ryu said, "That is my father's lightsaber. It is the weapon of a Jedi. Not as clumsy or random as blaster from my galaxy, or a phaser from yours. It's an elegant weapon, of a more civilized time and it's yours now."

Michelle was speechless a moment then as she deactivated it, she said, "I can't possibly accept this Ryu. It was your father's. I see you have one of your own, but surely, this should go to one of your children." Ryu said, "The other one in the box was my mother's and it will go to my daughter someday but I'm certain that my father, your uncle, would want you to have it. You can learn the ways of the Force if you want. I think that is why you and I were destined to meet. Where I come from, I am but one of many Jedi. Our number continues to grow, slowly, year by year. I think you were meant to become one of the first Jedi in this galaxy. If you choose to embrace the Force and take up your Jedi training you will help build a bridge that can never be destroyed."

Ryu replaced the cover cloth over his mother's lightsaber and closed the lid. "For now, take it. That lightsaber is yours now. I know this is a lot to take in, but think on it okay? Even if you choose not to accept training, and it is a _choice,_ not a directive, keep it as a reminder of the even further extended family we've both found today. Maybe someday, our families can meet. I know my father would want that. Right now, I need to go meet Counselor Troi on the bridge. Just think about it for now. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon so when you make your decision, I'll be around."

As Ryu and Warbler turned to leave, Michelle said, "Ryu, wait!" When he turned back to face her, she came up to him and embracing him said, "Welcome to the family cousin Ryu Jayks. I'm glad I got to meet you and I will think on it." Ryu returned the embrace and said, "Welcome to my family as well cousin Michelle Karú. The Force will be with you . . . always."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

As the turbolift doors opened onto the bridge, Ryu stepped out with Warbler close behind. Automatically, his eyes went to the main viewscreen and the Redemption in the center. As he walked onto the command deck proper, Riker stood up from his seat and shaking Ryu's hand, said, "Welcome to the bridge of the U.S.S. Titan, Mr. Jayks. What do you think?"

Ryu looked around at the crew as they moved from station to station, going about their duties as though visitors from other galaxies were a common event. Ryu said, "I like it Captain; very efficient in its openness. As you saw from the command deck aboard the Redemption, its builders were intent on reinforcing the subservience of the crew by forcing them to look up at their commanding officers to make reports. Unfortunately, the material cost of redesigning the command crewpits would be prohibitive so we've been compelled to keep their design as is. On the other hand, there are no more Star Destroyers being built anymore. Our capital ships are more in line with this one in its design and layout and we have phased out the very appellation of 'Star Destroyer'. We have cruisers, battleships, tenders, frigates and other assorted vessels."

Riker nodded and nodding his head at the screen said, "I still remember the first time I laid eyes on that ship of yours, when Regis commanded it. I don't think I'd ever felt more intimidated by a piece of hardware in my life to that point. My opinion though did take a bit of a change when Praetor Shinzon attacked the Enterprise E when I was still Executive Officer aboard her." Ryu said, "If you think a Star Destroyer is intimidating, be thankful you've never encountered a Super Star Destroyer." Riker's tone of voice was unmistakable as he said, "A _super_ star destroyer? No thanks, I think I'll pass." Ryu smiled, "Not to worry Captain, there were only a few Super Class vessels built and they're all accounted for. The Imperial Remnant has one as does the New Republic but one of the stipulations in the peace treaty was that no more Super Class ships would be built, _ever_. Both sides agreed to this and if some third party was able to get the plans and build one, the treaty also states that both sides will cooperate fully in hunting the rogue Super down and destroying it. Both our governments were sick and tired of war."

Riker nodded in understanding and said, "So are we. Don't get me wrong, our society certainly isn't a utopia or anything, we have our share of problems but overall, I think we'll be just fine in the long run." Ryu nodded, "I agree with you completely Captain." Riker said, "By the way Mr. Jayks, I'd appreciate it if the next time Security speaks to you, just go to the nearest comm-panel and call me." Ryu winced and said, "Sorry about that Captain; won't happen again." When Riker chuckled, Ryu relaxed. Riker said, "Deanna mentioned you were looking for someone. Did you find them?"

"Indeed I did. As it turns out, my father, Ronin, came from your earth to my galaxy somehow. I have a cousin serving aboard your ship and extended family on Earth, just as my new-found cousin also has family on Coruscant." Riker's eyes widened at this news. "Congratulations on finding this person. Who are they?" Ryu said, "Her name is Michelle Karú. She's a crew Chief here on the Titan. She will be strong in the Force if she chooses to undergo training someday. I hope you don't mind that I made this offer to her." Riker said, "Why should I? Family is very important. Deanna and I are planning on starting a family someday. I've read Chief Karú's fitness reports. She's an outstanding noncommissioned officer. She could have gone on the Command Track and someday gotten her own ship if she'd wanted. I'm beginning to understand why she didn't want to do that now. I hope she chooses to be trained. From what I saw of Armis and his abilities, I can only speculate at what it must be like to be able to sense the very stuff of the universe."

Just then, Deanna exited the turbolift and entered the bridge. Ryu said, "Now that you're here Deanna, I'd like to speak with you and the Captain privately if I may." Riker said, "Let's go to my ready room where we can relax and talk then. Number One, you have the bridge." Commander Harry Kim formerly of the U.S.S. Voyager, said, "Aye-aye Captain, I have the bridge."

Upon entering the ready room, Deanna and Will sat together and Ryu across from them on a chair he pulled away from the side of the Captain's desk nearest the door. Turning the chair around and straddling it, Ryu sat down. He said, "Armis asked me to inquire if you'd given any thought yet to the offer of training Deanna. You and my cousin Michelle would be the first Jedi in the Federation. Already, even I can sense that when you're fully trained, your empathic abilities would be quite far-reaching. I know that there would be other people all through the Federation that are what we call 'Force Sensitive' meaning that they have the naturally occurring ability to use the Force or can be trained to use it, like you." Deanna's eyes also widened like Riker's had at the news that Ryu had a cousin. She said, "Will and I have spoken of it. I have other duties so I must ask how long I would be away, just like I must ask, what's the down side to awakening the Force potential I and others have here in the Federation?"

Ryu said, "Armis was expecting this, as was I. As to your first question, neither Armis nor I is able to answer that right now. We both believe it won't take long since you've been using your empathic abilities since you were a child and I'm sure you were raised in the knowledge of the great responsibility of great power. Armis feels you should come back with us to our galaxy and meet Master Skywalker, the head of the Jedi Order. He would be best suited to evaluating your abilities and assigning a Master to teach you if you decide to undergo training. As to your other question . . . like us, Armis, myself and our families, awakening the Force potential in the Federation would bring the same rewards and consequences as we face everyday. When my father related his story to a holocron, a device we use that can store Force knowledge and teachings, he made the observation of: Light and Dark, Good and Evil; never one without the other. What path does one choose? It will take many years though before enough Force Sensitive people are found in the Federation to build its own branch of the Jedi Order. All the people who can be trained and who choose to, will have their information entered into a master database, just as ours is. All that they accomplish; all the powers they find for themselves or develop through training will be recorded for posterity here and in my galaxy. If they choose to start families of their own, their genealogies will be tracked for all time so that a complete historical record can be maintained. And yes, before you ask, there will be those who choose to embrace the Dark Side of the Force as well as the Light Side. When that happens, and unfortunately, it _will_ happen, it will become an internal matter for the Jedi Order to resolve. Having learned from our mistakes and our triumphs, I don't believe you'll have your own version of an Emperor Palpatine to worry about."

Ryu continued, "The Jedi Order exists apart from the Galactic Senate, where I come from. While our operations are funded largely by the New Republic, the Imperial Remnant also contributes to it. Among many other things, the Jedi have been granted limited police powers wherever we go. Because of this, we can render assistance to any law enforcement agency anywhere at anytime. It was decided early on that we would not be beholden to any one governing body. Any person, government or governmental representative may request our assistance. Master Skywalker has a twin sister who was raised apart from him and as a result, she has been fully involved in the political and diplomatic communities. Her name is Leia Organa-Solo and she is our Representative in the Senate. She has no voting powers but she can and does advise the Senate when asked. Mostly, she acts as our eyes and ears and keeps the Jedi Order informed of main-stream events in the Galaxy. I won't lie to you Deanna. If you complete your Jedi Training, it will open new horizons but also bring forth new dangers. To be a Jedi is not to be taken lightly. There will be times it will require of you the deepest commitment . . . the most serious mind, but I think you will find it worthwhile in the long run. Speaking of the long run, while undertaking your training and eventually assignments, the Jedi Order will provide all that you require; food, lodging, transport and everything in-between."

Will and Deanna sat silently and absorbed all Ryu had just told them. Deanna looked to her husband and then back to Ryu and gave her answer.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Upon her return to Voyager, Janeway spent the next day and a half preparing her report to Starfleet. After transcribing her observations to secure files, she sent them via subspace to Starfleet Headquarters. Far more quickly than she expected, she received a call in her ready room on the Captain's Priority Channel from the Head of Starfleet and the Federation President. The Head of Starfleet, Fleet Admiral Tsubak said, "I personally briefed President Fenley on our first contact with the Jedi named Armis Rau as well as the reports from the captured hardware and its subsequent reverse engineering, so don't be afraid to speak your mind Kathryn."

President Fenley said, "I was most fascinated with Captain Picard's report as well as the reports from the captured hardware Admiral Janeway. When Admiral Tsubak briefed me that we had reestablished contact with Jedi Rau, I was eagerly waiting on your report. I've already called for a special session of the Federation Council to debate this matter and take a vote to formalize relations tomorrow morning. Having read your latest report now, I want your personal thoughts and feeling on this matter. Admiral Tsubak wasn't kidding when he said to speak your mind Admiral. So let's hear it."

Janeway took a breath and said, "We should definitely formalize relations as soon as possible Madam President. There is so much we could learn from each other. The medical, engineering, general technologies and trade benefits to both galaxies are phenomenal. For example, they have had faster than light travel for literally millennia; we've only had it for a little over two hundred years or so. They have vessels that are decades old, maybe even centuries and they're still perfectly serviceable. Captain Chakotay mentioned that we have a hard enough time just getting twenty years of service life from a front line starship. If we can learn how they can get so much service time from a vessel, the fiscal savings from introducing new classes of starships as often as we currently do, could be funneled into further explorations of our galaxy. Medically, the New Republic and Imperial Remnant have something called 'bacta'. From what little I've been able to read about it so far, it's some kind of benign bacteria that is harnessed for its medicinal properties. It's capable of faster healing and no scarring of almost all but an instantly fatal injury. Clearly, a more thorough fact-finding mission would net considerable results but those are the first ones that come to mind."

The President said, "What of their government? Can you tell me anything more than what your reports do?" Janeway said, "They use Representative Democracy just as we do but theirs is much, much larger and older, than ours." The President said, "I saw where your report mentions six million forms of communication and over one thousand member worlds in their Galactic Senate. That is something I would love to see for myself someday. At any rate, what else can you tell me Admiral?"

Janeway said, "For right now, without a first-hand account from an Ambassador of our own, I can't provide much more than I have. If you like, I'm sure a visual transmission could be arranged for you to speak with Jedi Rau directly." "That won't be necessary at this time thank you Admiral," the President said. She continued, "What can you tell me of the Jedi themselves Admiral?" Janeway said, "I'm not qualified to answer that Madam President as that I've only met two of them, Armis Rau himself and his friend and fellow Jedi Ryu Jayks. Armis himself is well spoken and humble. Ryu seems rather quiet and hesitant to speak unless he has something specific to say. According to Jedi Rau, Deanna Troi is Force Sensitive and has been offered the opportunity to train as a Jedi. Also, Captain Riker-Troi informs me that Jedi Jayks has a distant cousin by the name of Michelle Karú, a Chief Petty Officer on board the Titan. It seems that Jedi Ryu's father, a man named Ronin Jayks comes from earth originally and somehow traveled to that galaxy, lived, married, had a son and passed away."

The eyes of both faces on the viewscreen widened considerably at this information. Janeway continued, "As to whom our Ambassador should be, I truly believe Captain Picard would be the best choice and if the Federation Council votes to formalize relations, my official recommendation is that he should be allowed to do so. Also, as I mentioned in my report, Jedi Rau is of the same mind as me. In point of fact, it was his idea to begin with. I also recommend that if Deanna Troi and Michelle Karú choose to, they should both be allowed either early retirement or an extended sabbatical so that they can go and train as Jedi. Jedi Rau has already indicated that there are no doubt many more people in our galaxy that are Force Sensitive and could be trained though it will take several years before that becomes a reality. For more detailed information on the Jedi, an official representative from the Jedi Order would have to be sent to speak to the Federation Council."

The President said, "Thank you for your observations Admiral Janeway. Is there anything you would like to add in closing?" Janeway said, "The only other thing I can think of at this time is that Captain Picard's suggestion of offering to purchase the abandoned Cardassian space station Empak Nor be pursued for our use as a waypoint on our side of the rift between our galaxies. From what Commander Worf mentioned about the hardware and software difficulties with DS9, while it might make better sense to build a station from scratch, by being able to use Empak Nor, we benefit by having a fully built facility ready to go and if we put a full size detachment of the Starfleet Corp. of Engineers on station, we should be able to bring it fully online in a fraction of the time it took to get DS9 functional."

The President said, "Thank you again for your observations and report Admiral Janeway. I'll be in touch after the debate and vote. Good day." The President's image vanished leaving only Fleet Admiral Tsubak's on the screen. He said, "Do you think she'll endorse the alliance Kathryn?" She said, "I haven't the foggiest idea sir. Since you said for me to speak my mind, I think she'd be at least ten different kinds of xenophobic fool not to. I truly believe this to be the essence of a win-win scenario. Hopefully the Federation Council will see it the same way." Fleet Admiral Tsubak said, "I agree with you on all counts Kathryn. I'll do what I can on my end to help the alliance go through. Talk to you later then. Fleet Admiral Tsubak, out." Janeway sat back in her seat, with her fingers under her chin and turned to face out her viewport and ponder the stars for a time.

Meanwhile, back on the Titan, Michelle Karú contacted her family back on earth. Her parents came onscreen, "Michelle, what's wrong? Are you sure it's okay to speak to us directly like this? When the Starfleet Security detachment showed up on our doorstep, we feared the worst only to be brought to a secure communications room." Deanna Troi rotated the screen to face her as she sat on the Captain's side of his desk in the Captain's ready room. She introduced herself and said, "She has permission from Captain Riker-Troi so don't worry about it. Before I can let Michelle talk to you though, regulations require me to tell you that everything you are about to hear from Michelle is to be held in the strictest of confidence because it concerns matters that are quite literally of galactic interest." When both people onscreen said they understood completely, Deanna rotated the screen on the Captain's desk back to face Michelle. She said, "I just wanted to say that I've made a decision just recently, a big one, and I wanted you to know." Her mother said, "Know what dear?" Michelle said, "Do you remember what you told me about the Message? How it would make sense when the time came?" When her parents nodded yes, Michelle said, "The Message just became clear to me a few days ago. The inter-family legend isn't a legend anymore. It's true, all of it's true. I've met and spoken to my cousin Ryu Jayks. He's the son of great grandmother Elizabeth's younger brother who left earth in the 21st century and sent the capsule with the Message."

Both of Michelle's parents were visibly shocked by this news. Her father said, "Are you sure honey? I mean, how is that possible? The message _is_ around three hundred years old." Michelle said, "I thought the exact same thing until Ryu activated the Message without asking for the code. He examined the capsule, opened the access panel and entered the code as if he had programmed it originally. Then he showed me the same message. It was stored in his droid's onboard memory. For Ryu, his father, is recent memory for him, distant legend to us. Evidently, time flows a little differently between his galaxy and ours. Anyway, he came aboard to give me this. It's mentioned in the legend somewhere too isn't it?" She held up the lightsaber to the viewscreen. Her parents' eyes widened again when they saw it.

Michelle said, "He also told me about the Force and offered to take me with him to be trained in its use. If I can do it, surely others of our family can as well. I'm going to go with him. I'm going to meet his family and train as a Jedi." Michelle's mother said, "What about Starfleet? Will they let you do that?" Michelle said, "Even if I have to resign, I'm going to do this. It just feels so, so . . . _right_ that I do. I just wanted you to know my decision. I don't know how long I'll be gone, but I'll come back some day and then you can meet Ryu too, and his family." Her father said, "If you feel it's the right thing to do, then do it. Take this chance. Experience everything you can and come back to us when you're ready. We'll be here even if we have to leave our own 'Message' to do it. Never forget that we love you."

Michelle smiled and said, "I know you do. Pappa, take care of mamma and I'll be back someday. . . I promise."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Captain Picard was in his ready room, going over a batch of reports and evaluations when his comm-panel indicated an incoming message from Voyager. Admiral Janeway's smiling face came onscreen and Picard said, "Pardon me for saying so Admiral, but you look like the proverbial cat that ate the canary. What can I do for you?" She said, "Actually Jean-Luc, it's me who is here to do something for you." Taking the questioning look on his face into account, she said, "I just wanted you to be the first to know." He said, "Know what Admiral?" She smiled again and said, "The Federation Council has overwhelmingly approved an Alliance with the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant; as well as confirmation of the first Ambassador at Large."

Picard smiled hugely and said, "That's fantastic news Admiral! Who will it be? James Kirk? Ambassador Spock, Reeva?" Janeway tried to suppress her smile but failed and said, "To answer your question best Captain Picard, maybe you could start by calling me Kathryn." Picard was silent as her comment sank in. His eyes widened as he said, "Me? I don't know quite what to say at the moment." She said, "It _is _your choice Jean-Luc, and I do hope you accept. It will mean promotion to the Admiralty and turning over command of the Enterprise to someone else, but you'll get to be the first member of the Federation to see an entirely new galaxy and meet its many people. Do you need some time to cogitate?"

Picard smiled and said, "I already have thought it over and spoken to those whose counsel I value. To answer your question Kathryn, I accept the position of Ambassador at Large for the United Federation of Planets."

For the second time in a standard week, Captain Picard put on his dress uniform. This time though, instead of a diplomatic affair, he was going to an affair of an entirely different magnitude. Beverley stood next to him in her own dress uniform as Picard unconsciously tugged on the hem of his uniform for the third time in five minutes and said, "Are you sure about this Beverly?" She turned to him and answered, "Just try and stop me Jean-Luc. My foolish pride almost drove you away once. I'm not changing my mind now, or ever. The question is more properly, _are you_ sure?" In response, he held out his arm in courtly fashion which she took by running her arm through the crook of his elbow and walking into the Enterprise's chapel with him while Will Riker and Deanna Troi trailed behind a few steps.

The next morning, Admiral Picard stood in the main shuttle bay with the ship's senior staff assembled in flawless ranks in front of him and the rest of the Enterprise's crew watching by viewscreen all over the ship. He said, "Ship's company . . . ATTENTION TO ORDERS!" When the staff snapped to attention, Picard took a breath and said, "Let it be known to all presently assembled, and to those watching by viewscreen, on this stardate, I, Admiral Jean-Luc Picard do hereby officially turn command of the starship Enterprise, NCC 1701 E, over to Captain Geordi Laforge in accordance with space maritime and Starfleet law."

Geordi stepped up, Captain's pips on his collar shining in the overhead lighting of the shuttle bay, accepted the PADD with the official change of command orders from Picard and said, "I, Captain Geordi Laforge, to hereby officially accept command of the starship Enterprise, NCC 1701 E, from Admiral Jean-Luc Picard in accordance with space maritime and Starfleet law. I stand ready to relieve you Admiral Picard." Picard answered, "I stand relieved Captain Larforge."

The traditional change of command party was merged with the reception for the marriage of Jean-Luc Picard and Beverly Crusher and ran well into the early evening hours.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Three days later, Jean-Luc and Beverly's belongings were transferred to guest quarters aboard the Redemption. Just down the hall from them, Michelle Karú and Deanna Troi were also moved into individual guest quarters of their own. Events were moving quickly yet still smoothly. Michelle had accepted early retirement; Deanna had taken the option of extended sabbatical. Beverly had been given new orders, officially assigning her as the personal physician to Ambassador-at-Large, Admiral Jean-Luc Picard. Now that the Alliance had been formalized, the four vessels were transferring data and materials to start the regular exchange of technologies between their respective governments. On this, the final day of the preliminary technology transfer before the vessels returned to their respective duties elsewhere, Admirals Picard and Janeway were meeting aboard the Redemption in the same Flag Conference Room that the welcome banquet had been held in.

Janeway was saying, "The Federation Council propositioned the Cardassians for the purchase of Empak Nor which they accepted. Because the Cardassian economy is still recovering from the Dominion occupation, they were quite happy to offload the station onto us with less haggling than was expected. Captain Montgomery Scott and his entire detachment of the Corp. of Engineers have been dispatched to take possession of the station and prepare it for transfer to this location with the help of some of their towing ships. Chief O'Brian has forwarded all his logs and reports about every problem he encountered on DS9. Worf was right. When Mr. O'Brian was first contacted, his response was practically word for word, 'If I'm ordered to, I'll do it of course. Otherwise, there is no way in hell I'll step foot on another station identical to DS9.'

Picard chuckled at that comment and said, "Speaking of Mr. Worf, I'm glad that Starfleet is allowing him to stay on as First Officer on the Enterprise. He deserves it." Janeway said, "It's all due to your recommendations on the subject." Just then, the door to the Conference Room opened and a droid entered; bipedal, humanoid in appearance and colored a shade of green that reminded Picard of emeralds. It came up to the two seated officers and said in a slightly effeminate voice, "Forgive the interruption Admirals. I am EME-3PO, human/cyborg relations. I have been assigned to you, Admiral Picard by Jedi Master Armis Rau, for the duration of your tenure as Ambassador at Large from the United Federation of Planets. My services are entirely at your disposal. In addition to the standard SynthTech AA-1 Verbobrain, I have also been programmed with the entire language database of your home galaxy in general and the Federation specifically."

Picard was visibly surprised. "I'll have to thank Armis sometime. Since I won't have use of the Universal Translator, I'm sure your services will be invaluable. How would you prefer to be addressed then?" EME-3PO said, "That is entirely up to you sir. You can use my numerical designation as it is, or if you prefer, you can make a nickname like Master Rau's astromech assistant, Creak or Jedi Ryu's astromech Warbler. I was sent to you now to introduce myself as well as convey a message from Master Rau to please come up to the Command Deck as soon as you can." Picard thought about it a moment and said, "If you don't mind, I would like to call you 'Emerald' or 'Emmee' for short. Would that be acceptable?" Emmee replied, "More than acceptable sir, thank you." Picard nodded his head and then asked, "Did Armis say why he would like to see Admiral Janeway and myself Emerald?" The newly named droid Emerald said, "Not precisely sir. The message was relayed to me through Commander Mythril. I'm sorry I can't be more specific sir."

Picard said, "That's alright Emerald. We were just about finished anyway. Let's go then." The two Admirals and one protocol droid left the Conference Room and entered the first turbolift they came to. A few minutes later, they stepped out onto the Command Deck and approached Commander Mythril who stood between the crewpits, arms crossed behind his back, hands clasped, as he stared out the viewport to the stars beyond it. Picard said, "Hello Commander Mythril. My newly assigned protocol droid said that Armis requested Admiral Janeway's and my presence here on the Command Deck. Do you have any ideas as to the suddenness of the request?" Mythril turned around, his red eyes meeting Picard's, and said, "No Admiral Picard. I don't. You are of course welcome here on the Command Deck at anytime other than combat. Perhaps we can ask him when he arrives."

Moments after Mythril's statement, Michelle and Deanna entered the Command Deck, walked up to the Admirals, and asked the same question. As Picard relayed Mythril's first statement to them both, Mythril was summoned down to a crewpit to look at some strange readings one of the scanner techs was receiving. Moments after that, Armis himself entered the Command Deck and in a loud, clear and calm voice said, "Shields up, all weapons to be manned and powered up, all crew to battlestations." Picard felt a faint thrum through the deckplates which he assumed to be the shields coming up as voices from the crewpit called out, "Shields up sir. All weapons report charged and ready, all stations report manned and ready."

Armis walked up to the Admirals and said, "Thank you for coming. While I was meditating in my quarters, I had a very clear Force Vision of a sequence of events about to unfold." Turning to Janeway he said, "Though it has not been asked out loud, I'm sure various analysts in Starfleet have also been pondering the military aspects of our new Alliance . . . yes?" Janeway nodded and said, "I won't deny it Armis. While Starfleet's mission is primarily one of peaceful exploration, it does have an inescapable military aspect; a defensive one to be sure but a military aspect just the same." Turning to Michelle and Deanna, he said, "No doubt you have both been wondering about some of the dangers that completing Jedi Training might bring?" When both women nodded, he addressed all of the Starfleet personnel at once and said, "I'm afraid that all of you will find the knowledge you seek in just a few more seconds."

Picard said, "What do you mean Armis?" Armis was silent for a moment when a scanner tech exclaimed, "Master Rau, we have sensor contact with a large craft in sector 47! Sensors indicate an approximate size on par with us! According to the information we've received with the first of the technology transfers from the Federation, it's a Borg cube!" All four Starfleet personnel drew in a breath in sharp unison. But before anyone could say anything, a transmission was received, "We are the Borg. Your technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile." Armis calmly said, "Jam all its transmissions, all forward fire arc weapons lock on to the cube the moment its in effective range and fire at will, also, bring up proton torpedo launchers 1 through 250 on the dorsal bow array and launchers 251 through 500 on the ventral bow array."

Picard and Janeway both opened their mouths at the same time to offer up strategies they knew to be effective against the Borg when comments became unnecessary. Like a ripple of fireworks in sequence, every forward fire arc weapon aboard the Redemption fired in turn and kept firing as fast as their capacitors could recharge and torpedoes unlike anything seen fired as fast as they could reload. Every laser blast hit the Borg cube dead center, every torpedo, obviously under independent guidance struck every other surface and promptly gutted the entire cube within 60 seconds of commencement. Completely stunned at the overwhelming firepower they were witnessing, the four Starfleet personnel stood motionless as the cube was reduced to debris and vapor. As the debris cloud spread, Commander Mythril said, "Cease Fire! All stations cease fire!"

When they did, Mythril said, "Point defense stations, fire on any debris larger than two meters large, sensors, keep sharp and feed your raw data directly to fire control. There will be no mistakes in this. You've all seen the data on the Borg and what they do. Wipe them out . . . all of them!" As Picard tried to, in his own way, assimilate what he had just seen, Armis stood there with his eyes closed, focusing on something when on the far end of the Command Deck near the turbolift, there was a shimmer in the air as six Borg drones appeared. Drawing both of his weapons from his belt, Armis activated the black and white blades and ran towards the drones. While Janeway and Picard were still focused on the destruction of the Borg cube, Michelle and Deanna looked on as Armis became a whirling, flashing engine of controlled destruction that quickly rendered the six drones, any one of which was capable of taking over a regular starship, into component pieces on the deck.

Some pieces were still twitching and sparking while most just lay on the deck, inert. Five of the heads had a lightsaber blade driven directly into what was left of the once organic braincase, while one head had rolled into a crewpit. Armis deactivated his blades, put them back on their respective hooks on his belt, and with a motion of one hand, levitated the last head up from the crewpit. As soon as it was in the vicinity of the other debris, Armis clenched his hand and crushed the last head like an egg.

Armis walked back over to where the four Starfleet members were and said, "I think that will be answer enough for all parties concerned."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Captain Geordi Laforge sat in the ready room, _his_ ready room, still adjusting to his promotion, barely a week old when Worf's voice came over the inter-ship intercom, "Shields up! All crew to battlestations, Captain Laforge to the bridge! Geordi practically vaulted his desk and entered the bridge as the inter-ship channel closed. "Status report Mr. Worf!" Worf looked up from the Tactical station and said, Captain, a Borg cube is coming out of a warp now and all weapons systems on the Redemption have just powered up!" As Worf finished speaking, a transmission was received, ""We are the Borg. Your technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile."

Before Geordi could begin issuing any orders, Worf said, "The Redemption is firing!" As Geordi looked at the viewscreen, he could barely believe his optic implants as the Redemption opened up and quickly reduced the cube to debris. A childhood memory came unbidden to Geordi as he remembered a vaguely remembered quotation from when, as a child, he read the Bible, "Dear Mary, mother of God in Heaven!" Worf's exclamation was a Klingonese/English hybrid of, "Holy Khest!" Geordi fell into the Captain's seat, suddenly weak in the knees and mused out loud, "To think that Warlord Regis only fired on us twice and nearly destroyed the Enterprise D! To actually see what a ship like the Redemption can do when commanded effectively!" Worf unconsciously said, "I concur."

Aboard the Titan and Voyager respectively, similar exclamations of shock and barely grasped comprehension followed suit. Bridge officers of both ships as well as their respective Captains and XO's simultaneously thought back to the start of the mission, when they came into the sector, weapons hot, ready to fight and probably die to prevent Regis from trying to conquer the Federation.

Back aboard the Redemption, Janeway contacted all three Starfleet vessels for status reports while the Borg drone debris was handled with a joint effort between Armis and Ryu using the Force to levitate all the pieces to the nearest waste disposal chute, jettisoned and promptly incinerated by the point defense laser crews. An hour later, after ensuring that the three Starfleet vessels under her overall command had remained uncompromised by the Borg, Janeway caught up with Picard as Armis was saying to Michelle and Deanna, "Just as your Starfleet Command is primarily exploration with an inescapable element of military, so too is the Jedi way. We are usually called in as mediators and instruments of peace, but there is an element of the warrior that can't be denied. As I mentioned earlier, the Jedi Order has been granted limited police powers in all sectors. We don't actively pursue criminals but may sometime be asked to assist as Investigators or bodyguards. Speaking for myself, I would much rather meditate in the Force and refine my understanding of it, but sometimes, I am called to fight. As you learn of the Force, you will gain your own understanding and find your own place in it. Deanna, you would make an excellent diplomat since you're already empathically inclined. Michelle, you would probably do well as a general purpose member of the Order, much like your cousin Ryu but as I said, you both will find your own path; no one will choose one for you. If either of you have any second thoughts about training, I will completely understand if you decline now. I too went through my own phase of deciding whether or not to train as a Jedi. Overall though, I believe with all my heart that it was the best choice I could've made."

Michelle answered without skipping a beat, "I'm in. I want to explore this potential I have, and I want to meet more of my extended family." Deanna said, "I too will follow through with my decision. Training as a Jedi can only help me become a better Counselor, and I already feel the desire to teach others after I gain my own proficiency. I remember back aboard the Titan when you told Will and I that it would take several years to recruit the Force Sensitive people we'll need to start our own branch of the Jedi Order." Armis smiled, "Very well. Starting tomorrow Michelle, Ryu will be your training partner for now and it will give you both more time to get to know each other as the family you are. Deanna, I'll start working with you at that time too. For now, you're free to do as you wish. You can stay and listen to what I have to say to the Admirals or not; your choice." Michelle bowed shortly and said, "Yes Master Rau," and left the Command Deck. Deanna hesitated a moment then said, "If you don't mind, Armis . . . no, Master Rau, I'd like to spend tonight with my husband. Until the hub-station on your side of the rift is online and the station on my side likewise, I won't be able to speak with Will." Armis nodded and said, "Please do so. I want you both to be certain that you want to separate for the time required for your training. My Master, Ronin, told me about the time he had to be separated from his wife Gabrielle while she was away completing her training. He told me how difficult it was at first, to be separated from her, but in the end, it was for the better that she finished her training." Deanna duplicated the short bow that Michelle used and left the Command Deck to arrange transport over to the Titan as that she no longer carried a com-badge on her person.

Turning his attention back to Admirals Janeway and Picard, Armis said, "How are the others? Problems? Did the Borg try to board them too or just us?" Janeway said, "After the cube was obliterated, Captains Chakotay, Laforge and Riker-Troi coordinated focused sensor scans on each other's ships and visual searches of their own and found no sign of any Borg. It seems they were after you. The three science departments have theorized that the energy discharge of the Redemption coming through the rift acted like a beacon to this cube, which was probably and hopefully the only one in the quadrant. Our studies of the Borg in general support their observed behaviors that each cube usually operates on its own, assimilating and expanding its piece of the Collective until or unless a meeting is called for by the Queen, at which point, they will meet at a trans-warp hub and decide what to do from there."

Picard spoke now, "I confess to curiosity as to when the Redemption had torpedo launchers installed. None of the information you provided when we first met even suggested it." Armis said, "That's because it's pretty much specific to the New Republic. During the Rebellion, one of the Empire's greatest weaknesses was in underestimating the effectiveness of such weapon systems. The Empire was very much a 'speak loudly and carry a big gun' kind of mentality. The Rebellion operated in small units and a cell structure hierarchy. Each piece of the Rebellion was quite capable of doing a significant amount of damage on its objective and then jumping to hyperspace to evade capture. When you get around to it Admiral Picard and you too Admiral Janeway, look up the Battle of Yavin in our history archives and you'll get a glimpse of how our galactic civil war was won. Make no mistake, it was a bloody conflict and one we hope never happens again."

Armis said, "I know it's a change of subject, but do you like your protocol droid Admiral Picard? Will she be sufficient for the needs of your duties as Ambassador-at-Large?" Picard said, "Quite sufficient Armis. Thank you for assigning her to me. While it will take some getting used to having Emerald following me about, we have a saying back on Earth, a very old saying, 'When in Rome, do like the Romans.' Armis sensed the humorous intent and chuckled. He said, "If I understand the reference correctly, it's quite accurate. We have one similar, it goes, 'If someone calls you a Hutt, ignore them. If two people call you a Hutt, begin to wonder. If three or more people call you a Hutt, get yourself a drool bucket and start hoarding spice." While neither Picard nor Janeway knew what a Hutt or spice was, they both could sense the humor in the comment and chuckled.

Janeway directed her attention towards Picard and said, "It's time I returned to the Voyager and prepared for our trip home and I imagine you as well have a few last minute things to take care of before you officially begin your duties as Ambassador-at-Large Jean-Luc so I'll bid you fair winds and following seas, wherever you find them on your journey. Maybe someday, I'll be able to visit." Picard said, "It's been a pleasure working with you Kathryn and I look forward to the reactions my first reports generate in the Federation Council and your visit as well. I hope you too find fair winds and following seas."

Janeway smiled, tapped her com-badge and said, "Janeway to Voyager, one to beam over." The on duty transporter chief said, "Very well Admiral. Standby . . . energizing." With a shimmer of energy, Janeway was enveloped by the transporter effect and vanished a moment later. Armis said, "I do look forward to seeing that technology on my side of the rift. It will cause quite a stir, that's for certain." Turning to face Picard, he said, "If you or your wife have any questions or concerns Admiral Picard, please don't hesitate to contact me through Emerald or Commander Mythril. For now, I must attend to our preparations to return through the rift." Picard nodded in understanding and left the Command Deck, already looking forward to speaking with Beverly about her experiences of the day and also looking forward to the journey through the rift and his duties as Amabassador-at-Large. He decided to start with a trip to the ship's library to look up The Battle of Yavin that Armis had mentioned.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

In their quarters that night, over dinner, Jean-Luc listened attentively while Beverly spoke of the things she was beginning to learn about the medical technologies aboard the Redemption. She spoke of the incredible dexterity that medical droids like the 2-1-B and its assistant FX-7 were capable of and the nearly miraculous properties of bacta. She mentioned seeing some medical holograms that showed the kinds of trauma that bacta was used to treat as well as the level of sophistication of the prosthetic limbs she'd seen. Other small talk followed until, over dessert, Beverly, who had noticed the faint trace of a far away look in her husband's eyes said, "What's bothering you Jean-Luc? And don't even bother trying to tell me nothing's wrong, I've known you too long." Jean-Luc lost the momentary far away look in his eyes as his gaze met his wife's. "You're right Beverly. At first, I thought this Alliance would be for the best. On the surface, everything we could learn from each other. Cultural, scientific, societal . . . there seemed to be no end to the benefits for all sides. Today though, today I saw something that was many things rolled into one event." Beverly took his hand across the table and said, "Was it the Borg? What did you see that's shaken you Jean-Luc?"

He smiled and said, "Yes it was partly the Borg . . . but it was more the Redemption's and Armis's reaction to it. If a cube like that arrived on scene anywhere in the Federation, it would be controlled panic as we fight and change and adapt to counter the Borg's ability to compensate but today, I saw a Borg cube decimated in less time than it took me to request a cup of hot Earl Grey tea from a synthesizer aboard the Enterprise. Armis was so calm, almost ice-like as he strode onto the Command Deck and ordered his weapons systems online. His crew jammed the entire spectrum of communications to prevent the Borg from requesting additional cubes . . . something that we can only barely do even after all this time that we've been encountering each other. Watching that cube get vaporized was, was . . . beautiful, horrific, frightening, encouraging and a hundred other emotions all at once. My attention was on the destruction of the cube so I didn't see Armis single-handedly destroy six borg drones on the Command Deck. Michelle and Deanna did though."

He continued, "On the one hand, being able to learn how the New Republic/Imperial Remnant Alliance can do that gives me genuine hope that we will be able to hold off the Borg indefinitely, maybe even someday eliminate them or at least their ability to threaten free-sentience for all time. On the other hand, seeing that kind of firepower at work makes me wonder if we would be better off severing all ties and going our separate ways." Beverly asked, "Why's that Jean-Luc? I mean to say that while that kind of firepower _is_ practically awe inspiring but clearly, with someone like Armis Rau in command of that kind of power, I don't think we'll have anything to worry about." Picard gently shook his head and said, "With Emerald's help, she's the protocol droid that Armis assigned to me to aid in my duties as Ambassador-at-Large, I've been accessing some of the history of the galaxy we'll be calling home for the foreseeable future. In the time of Palpatine's Empire, you remember what Armis first told us about his galaxy and their civil war?" When she nodded, Jean-Luc continued, "In the days of Palpatine's Empire, he ordered built not one but _two_ space stations. They were called Death Stars. They had enough power to destroy an entire _planet_! An entire _planet_ Beverly! Not just a city here and there . . . an entire planet. In fact, one planet _was_ destroyed. It was named Alderaan. By all accounts, it was like what Earth is now. Peaceful, artistic, stable; it was destroyed as a test-bed for the first Death Star. Fortunately, the first one was destroyed. Perhaps three or four years after that, Palpatine had another one built that was even more powerful than the first. It too was destroyed. Several years after that, while Luke Skywalker, whom we'll meet sooner or later after our arrival to Coruscant, was rebuilding the Jedi Order, another super weapon was built at an old Imperial think-tank called the Maw Installation. It was built in a gravitational null point inside a cluster of black holes. This one was called the Sun Crusher and it had a type of quantum torpedo that when launched into a star would cause a catastrophic chain reaction that would cause the star to go supernova in only a few hours; millions if not billions of years before it would have in the natural course of entropy."

Beverly could only gasp at the enormity of these weapons systems after she was able to comprehend them. Jean-Luc said, "To think that we have entered into an alliance with people capable of creating such abominable weapons makes we wonder if we've done the right thing. I'm not exaggerating when I say that it is beyond my ability to express in words the relief I felt when I also read that the original creator of these systems had her memory of them erased by a young man who was only just discovering his potential in the Force at the time. Now the only copies of the Death Star plans are locked so deeply in the archives of the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant that very few people will ever be able to find them and the plans for the Sun Crusher were lost when the memories of its creator was erased."

Beverly said, "All the more reason for this Alliance I think. I know it will take several years, decades, maybe even a century or two, but with regular interaction between us and the people of the New Republic and Imperial Remnant, they'll learn from us how to harness the energies that created these terrible things into truly positive directions, just as we can learn to harness their no-nonsense approach to the Borg. For now, let's just enjoy this great adventure that we're about to embark on and worry about tomorrow when tomorrow gets here. For now, I think I can help you forget your concerns for awhile." Beverly stood up, kissed her husband deeply and caressed his cheek as she walked towards their bedroom. Picard watched the figure of his wife as she walked away, mused softly to himself, "Make it so," and stood up from the table to follow her.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

The next morning, the jump through the rift back to Armis and Ryu's home galaxy was brief and remarked upon to Picard for the sake of courtesy. While Beverly kept to Sickbay, Jean-Luc stayed in an office that had been set aside for his use as Ambassador-at-Large with Emerald to begin his education in Galactic Standard or Basic as it was more commonly known. He had been told that with occasional stops for navigational checks, the hyperspace trip back to Coruscant would take several days so he decided to put the time to good use because while he would have his protocol droid, Emerald to help him, he wanted to be able to read and write Basic for his own benefit. Elsewhere aboard ship, Michelle met Ryu in one of the many gyms aboard to start her training. While this gym had been largely outfitted for use by Jedi, it looked and felt much like any other to her. Ryu met her there, dressed in a white sleeveless gi top and gi pants, black belt around his waist and his usual headband.

She couldn't resist asking, "Don't you ever get tired of wearing that headband Ryu?" In a rather deadpan tone of voice he said, "I have others and they _do_ get cleaned regularly. I just like it is all." She smiled and said, "Why do you wear it so much?" He said, "It helps me feel closer to my dad. He used to cover my eyes with one like it when I first started my lightsaber training. It was of immense help to me and enabled me to learn how to use more than just my eyes. You too will learn in time. You don't have to wear a headband unless you want to but eventually, you'll work your way up to it or something like it."

Michelle asked, "What's first then? We won't be starting with lightsabers will we?" Ryu knelt down on the mat and motioned for Michelle to do likewise. When she did, he said, "Not yet, we'll start with a simple Force meditation to clear your mind. Repeat after me, 'There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no death, there is the Force." As Michelle did so, she felt her pulse lessen, her breathing deepen and suddenly felt as if a door of pure light had been opened before her. Ryu said, "Do you feel it? Do you feel the Force reaching out to you?" Never having felt anything like it before, she gasped and said, "I do. I can feel it. It's almost like the very universe is welcoming me." Ryu said, "The Jedi Code sums up the overall Jedi perspective on the Force but there are many levels and many nuances to these levels that you will discover for yourself over time. Now, stand up." After she did so, she saw him strap on some fighting gloves, tossed a similar pair to her and said, "For now, show me your power. In some of our conversations to this point, you've mentioned some martial arts training. I need to see what you've got in order to get a better idea of how to direct your training until a Master is assigned to you; en garde."

Several bouts followed over the course of the morning. It soon became obvious to Michelle that she was in the presence of a master martial artist, not just a Jedi. Unconsciously, as the bouts continued, Michelle tapped into the Force to bolster her stamina but still she usually lost the matches she and her cousin fought until finally, at one point, they both stopped. Both were sweat-soaked by this time. Ryu knelt on the mat again and when Michelle followed suit, Ryu said, "I can feel you already using the Force to ease your aches. This is just one aspect the Force allows." Michelle said, "What style do you fight with Ryu? It seems somehow familiar and somehow, I know I've never seen the like." Ryu took another calming breath and said, "Like my father before me, I use Teräs Käsi. It has existed for centuries but only a Force user can fully harness its potential. My dad taught me most of what I know and my mother added to it. Let me show you two techniques that only a long-time Force user can perform. The third I can only describe to you because it's too powerful to be used aboard ship. Someday, I can show it to you. But first, we go to the Central Jedi Temple to formalize your status as a Padawan Learner."

Standing up, he took a stance that equally balanced his weight on both feet, his left hand held parallel to his waist, his right held vertically and bent up at the elbow. Taking a few breaths, he closed his eyes and began to focus the Force. Michelle felt him draw in energy from all around him and to her perception she saw brief flickers of small blue orbs everywhere being drawn in like metal filings to a magnet. Drawing his left foot in, he opened his eyes and leapt into the air in a spiral uppercut that Michelle had never even considered possible since it seemed almost to defy gravity as his shout echoed throughout the gym, "Shoryuken!"

Up he spiraled and came down to land in almost the exact same spot he leapt from. Moments after recovering from his leap he jumped forward with one leg extended forward and the other pointing down like the balance point on a spinning top as he said loudly, "Tatsu-maki-sen-pu-kyaku!" Michelle's eyes widened in seeing this technique since it too seemed to defy gravity. Ryu landed from his spinning kick, walked back over and knelt back down next to Michelle. Before she could say anything he said to her, "I can already see the questions in your eyes Michelle. Patience; after you have unlearned some of what you have learned; you too can do things like you've just seen." Michelle swallowed her questions for now and asked instead, "What is Teräs Käsi?"

Ryu said, "As I indicated earlier, Teräs Käsi is a martial art that has existed for centuries but only a Force user can tap its full potential. I already sense in you the same instinctive ability as I did my father. He used it naturally and was so skilled in it that Master Skywalker, whom you'll meet after we get to Coruscant, asked him to take on the title of Jedi Master and teach other Jedi in its use and also asked him to relate everything he knew about Teräs Käsi into a Holocron, a type of recording device older yet much more capable of absorbing Jedi Lore than any standard audio, visual or holographic method yet discovered or created. Armis learned most of his fighting ability from my father as well. My mother and I were also taught by him, and my mother in turn taught me the vortex spin kick I showed you. When my dad first saw her use it, he later told her that it reminded him of a technique that a fictional warrior idol of his used. He decided to give my mother's vortex spin kick the same name as the one his fictional hero used. I saw my mom use it in combat once. It was so powerful, that it seemed to draw in the very air around her. It drew her opponent in like some kind of vacuum and promptly defeated him. It was my father who taught me the rising punch and the other technique, the kinitite energy wave punch. Over time, I learned how to apply the kinitite in a different way than my father but it's no less powerful than his. In fact, though it doesn't much matter to me one way or the other, I am considered the foremost authority on Teräs Käsi and as a result am called its Master, much to my chagrin."

Michelle asked, "Why do you feel that way? I think your father would've been proud to know that his son is the undisputed Master of a fighting art." Ryu said, "I know he is, he's told me on more than one occasion, but like him, titles and ceremony don't mean much to me. I think I take after him on the point of receiving recognition and attention in that I don't really like it or need it." Michelle asked, "How can he have told you since he's gone? On that count, in fact, if you can tell me, how did my Uncle die?" Ryu shifted from a kneeling position to a cross-legged one on the mat and said, "I thought you might ask that very question today. Warbler should be arriving any moment now to help me answer you Michelle because you have to see it to even begin to understand." As he said that, the doors to the gym opened and Ryu's droid Warbler trundled into the room on his tripodal legs. He rolled up to where Ryu and Michelle sat as that she too had changed positions on the mat. Warbler's language was indecipherable to Michelle but Ryu understood his question and said, "Warbler, please show Michelle your holo-record of my father's passing."

Warbler rotated his inverted flowerpot head and a beam of light emitted from it. Michelle saw a picture of an older man sitting up in bed with a light blanket over his legs. He had on robes similar in cut and appearance to those that she saw Armis Rau wear. He had snowy white hair in a militarily short style that stood up straight on his head and an equally snow white goateé on his chin. In his face, Michelle saw the lines of the plainly handsome features of her uncle from the Message that had been passed down in her family. His slightly wrinkled features gave his face a maturity and grace that Michelle couldn't help but pay attention to. He was speaking into a crystalline orb that floated near his face like an ancient microphone out of a history text. He was saying, "Now we arrive at the end of my story, or is it the beginning? I leave that for you to decide. Twilight is at last upon me, and soon, night must fall. That is the way of things, the way of the Force. This record I am relating as well as all of my knowledge of Teräs Käsi, is to be stored in this Jedi Holocron that Luke sent me. He knew my time was growing finite and I hope that any future Jedi who hear this tale will take from it a better understanding of the path we must all travel. Light and Dark, Good and Evil, never one without the other, which path will you choose to follow?"

"I know the light and it summons me now. I see . . . I understand . . . the light . . . Gabrielle . . . I see you . . . I am . . . with . . . you." The voice of the man in the picture faded and he laid his head back against the pillows. He took one last breath and relaxed so totally that his head gently rolled to the right. He lay there a few moments and then his body faded from sight and the cover over his legs collapsed in on itself. As the recording ended, Michelle found herself crying tears that seemed to stream from her eyes like a trickle from a faucet. She wiped the tears away as best she could only to have them replaced by new ones as she said, "Why am I crying? I never knew my uncle and yet I feel as though I've lost a mentor and friend." A few feet away, a person appeared. Floating in the air just above the floor, surrounded by a soft blue nimbus, wearing the same style of robes as seen in the recording; Michelle saw the man from the recording but somehow knew that this wasn't a recording. Ryu didn't turn as he said, "Welcome Father. Will this be our last meeting then?"

The man spoke in a voice like a faint echo from far away, "Yes, my son. I can no longer delay my final crossing. I'm glad that I got to see my niece, several generations removed perhaps, but my niece all the same. Michelle, you cry for me because you _feel _the Force everywhere around you right now. You feel it between me, you, my son, the ship and yes, the very stuff of the universe itself. I have watched over my sister's family and have gotten to know you though you never saw me. I was the sunlight in your hair, the imaginary friend in your heart and the love you felt in your family. Despite the passing of the generations Michelle, I love you as much as I loved your great grandmother, my sister. Never forget that. As for you Ryu, you are ready now to make your way in the galaxy. Someday, we will meet again, when you are ready, but don't hurry. I will have plenty of company until then, your mother among them. Farewell my son, I love you and am very, very proud of you. The Force will be with you . . . always."

Michelle barely stammered out, "I love you too, Uncle Ronin," before the apparition faded from sight. Ryu was crying too as Michelle came over to him and embraced him from behind to place her chin on his shoulder as the two cousins released the last vestiges of pain that neither knew they were carrying.

Elsewhere in the ship, while Deanna meditated on a slightly raised seat across from the identical one that Armis sat upon in a special meditation chamber, his meditation was broken as he felt the final passing of his Master while the tears that ran down his face were left to run their course unhindered. Minutes later, his heart feeling lighter and fuller than ever, he resumed his meditation.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Two days later, the Redemption made its final course correction and began the final leg of its journey back to Coruscant. Michelle met Ryu in the same gym where they had sparred. Ryu was waiting there with a metal carry-case similar to a Starfleet issue emergency medical kit. After a light warm up and simple shadow spar with her cousin, Michelle asked, "So what's on the training plan for today Ryu?" He said, "Now that you've started to open yourself to the Force, its time for your first lightsaber lesson."

"What do I do first then? She asked. Ryu opened up the case at his feet and withdrew an orb that was about the size of a cantaloupe and studded with needle-like projections over it. He said, "This device is called a training remote. It's used in all manner of training scenarios. It will hover around you and fire stingers beams at you in random sequences. None of these stingers is more than annoying, but it will help you to learn how to focus past distraction. Your job is to block the bolts with your lightsaber. I know that you've done a little practicing in your room because Warbler has been complaining to me about the repeated maintenance requests for small furniture items from the main computer."

Michelle's face reddened a little but she didn't try to deny it. Ryu said, "It's all right. My first attempts at saber handling were pretty pathetic so I'm not going to say anything further on the issue." Ryu tossed the globe into the air. Its miniaturized repulsorlifts clicked on as it performed a series of simple maneuvers as part of its diagnostic routine. When it stopped moving, it was floating next to Ryu's head. He said, "Command, level 1 difficulty. Begin." The seeker zipped in and fired a few bolts that Michelle dodged. As she did so, she drew the lightsaber from her belt, the one that had once belonged to her uncle, activated its red blade and took a defensive stance.

At first, Michelle over-compensated the parry motions since the only weight from a lightsaber was in the handle, and was stung several times. As she began to adapt though, her technique became a little cleaner, a little more certain but still very much in need of detailed instruction. After being stung for the tenth time, she dropped her guard a little too much and the seeker swung around and fired a double bolt into the backs of both legs, causing her to collapse to the floor. As she dropped the saber, the safeties in the handle deactivated the blade before it could damage the floor and the seeker resumed a neutral position in the air next to Ryu.

As she sat there and rubbed the feeling back into her legs, Ryu came over to her, knelt down to be on the same eye level as her and said, "The same exact thing happened to me when I first started my saber training but I was still a little boy at the time." She asked, "What happened then?" He said, "My father dried my tears of frustration and said something to me that his teacher told him." "And that was?" She asked. He answered, "My dad said to me, 'Your eyes can deceive you, don't trust them', at which point he gave me my first headband. In your case though, I have something else that will perform the same function."

Turning back to the carry case, Michelle only then noticed the helmet that sat next to it. As she stood up and picked her lightsaber up off the floor, Ryu walked over to her and put the helmet on her head. Michelle's eyes were suddenly blocked completely as she said, "With the blast shield down, how can I see to fight?" Ryu said, "With the Force. Always remember that but for very few exceptions, the Force is omnipresent. It can be felt as something and as nothing at the same time." Michelle said, "You mean it controls your actions?" He said, "Partially, but it also obeys your commands. Now, do it again; this time, stretch out with your feelings and act on instinct."

Michelle reactivated her saber and raised it back to guard. As the seeker resumed motion, it hummed and flew around looking for the most effective target. Michelle started to track it by its sound through the air but was rewarded with another stinging bolt to her posterior. She took a deep breath and relaxed just as Ryu had instructed her and stretched out with her feelings. Seemingly, in her mind's eye, she saw it move up and to her high right. Raising her blade she felt a minute impact on the blade. Seconds later, in her mind's eye, she saw it perform a complicated series of motions, high to the left, low right, back to high right, over to low left and finally high center, firing each time. Each time she felt the tiny impact on the blade instead of her flesh.

After the final bolt was blocked against the blade horizontally, she let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. In the darkness before her eyes, she heard Ryu's voice saying, "You see . . . you can do it."

Meanwhile, in another part of the ship, Deanna and Armis were talking. "What do you know of telekinesis and its related abilities Deanna?" Armis asked her. She said, "Well, I've seen you summon objects to your hand from just over a meter away. After you left the Enterprise D to return to your home, Worf once told me of the things you did while working with him on the holo-deck. Flips and rolls, other assorted things that only the most skilled of acrobats or people from heavy gravity worlds in the Federation can do. Why do you ask?" Armis answered, "Since the majority of the training you received to be a Counselor focused on your empathic abilities, this will be a case of 'unlearning what you have learned'. I've already felt your mind opening to the Force and I'm sure you've noticed the related boost in your empathic talents?" When she nodded, he took a small metal box out of a pocket in his robes, set it on a table across the room from them both and said, "Start by opening yourself to the Force and visualize the box you see on the table over there. Look at it, expand your senses. Feel the box. Feel where it occupies space. When you've done that, visualize reaching out for it with your hand but don't walk over to it. This may take some getting used to since you were probably never told that telekinesis is similar to empathy in the way its mentally comprehended. Now, do you see the box? Do you feel it in your awareness?"

When Deanna nodded yes, Armis said, "Now reach out and pick it up. Just do it. Don't think about it, don't ponder it, just do it." As she focused and did as she was told, the box sat there unmoving at first. Armis could feel the Force being manipulated but realized that she was trying too hard. He said, "I'm going to tell you something now that you will hear so much through the course of your training that you'll probably become sick of it; something that Ronin's teacher said to him on many occasions. Ronin in turn said it to his wife when he started to train her, and they both said to Ryu as they started his training, 'Do or do not, there is no try'. Deanna took a breath and looking within, realized what Armis was telling her. Adjusting her perception of the box on the table, it began to slide across the table at first in fits and spurts, then suddenly as if thrown; it flew across the room so fast that only Armis's catching it prevented it from smacking her in the forehead.

Looking at Deanna, Armis used the Force to put the box back on the table and said, "You see . . . you can do it. Now, do it again but use a little more control this time okay? You put so much into that exercise that if I hadn't caught it and/or you avoided it, there would be a sizable dent in your forehead or in the bulkhead behind you." Smiling rather sheepishly, she nodded and resumed the exercise.

Still elsewhere on the Redemption, Jean-Luc and Beverly both were finishing there first Galactic Standard writing and comprehension exams with Emerald looking on impartially. After going over their flimsiplast sheets she said, "You are both making marvelous progress in your learning of Basic but need a little more work on punctuation and contextual spelling. Still though, for having been raised in a completely different writing system, you're both progressing well. That will be all for today. Is there anything else I can help you with?" Beverly spoke, "Emmee, how is it that you're sentient yet still acknowledge that you are property to be bought, sold and owned on a whim? Do you ever feel, I don't know, _used_ somehow?" Emerald's head turned toward Beverly and said, "Not at all Mistress Beverly. My purpose is to serve. If I had no owner, what use would there be in my existence in the first place? In my assignments with the Diplomatic Corps., I have encountered, on rare occasion a free or manumitted droid. Speaking only for myself, I would not want to be manumitted. I have no better explanation for it than simply it is what it is. I am happy to have a purpose in my function. I once met See Threepio, the protocol unit of the Jedi Knight Leia Organa-Solo, sister to the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. By the time he and R2-D2 had been bought by Own and Beru Lars and upon their untimely shutdown, passed into Master Skywalker's ownership, they both had been active for so long with no recent memory wipes that their personalities and that of Master Skywalker complimented each other very, very well. See Threepio and his astromech counterpart, R2-D2 had once been the property of Master Skywalker and Mistress Leia's birth father the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and what was believed to be their birth mother Padme Amidala. Upon entering the service of their children, some kind of isolated memory was triggered and restored to them both and they freely chose to stay with the children of their prior owners. This proved to be especially fortuitous as that it was also only recently that a record-keeper in the clergy archives on the planet of Naboo discovered the actual marriage certificate of Anakin Skywlker and Padme Amidala-Skywalker.

Jean-Luc who had listened closely said, "Why was it only just recently discovered Emerald?" Emerald turned her head to Picard and said, "In the days of the Old Republic, it was forbidden for Jedi Knights to marry although there have been rare exceptions of which I have no detail on at this time. You would have to ask the Jedi Historian Dieter Jayks-Bree for that information. Also at that time, Padme Amidala-Skywalker was the Senator for the planet of Naboo. It would have created a scandal that might have shaken the very foundations of the Jedi Order of the time. With the Clone War on the verge of engulfing our entire galaxy, it would have been a very bad time for one of the Jedi's greatest heroes and one the Senate's most valued diplomats stripped of their positions and censured or worse, cast out of their respective callings. Fortunately, when Master Luke Skywalker reformed the Jedi Council, he did not even consider forbidding marriage and family to the members of the new Jedi Order, especially as that he himself was a husband and father as were several of his first students." Jean-Luc and Beverly thanked Emerald for the information and dismissed her to other duties of the moment. When Emerald had left, Beverly said, "Well Jean-Luc, I think we've been otherwise occupied long enough. Let's go find a gym facility and get a solid workout in and then turn in early tonight. According to the last message that Commander Mythril relayed to us, we should be arriving on Coruscant tomorrow. After we get there, we'll both be too busy to get much exercise in. You with your Ambassadorial duties and I with my medical and science information exchange program to get coordinated and started."

Picard smiled and said, "You're the doctor, Doctor. Let's make it so."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

The next morning found all of the former Starfleet personnel on the Command Deck with Armis and Ryu while Commander Mythril was attending to his duties in one of the crewpits. As the Redemption requested and was given an insertion point to begin its orbit of the capitol planet of the New Republic, Coruscant, Jean-Luc and Beverly couldn't hide their awe at seeing a planet almost completely covered by city structures or the sheer volume of the incoming and outgoing traffic. Deanna for her part had spent most of her morning meditation reinforcing her mental shields to keep the mental roar to a manageable level in her mind. Michelle was using the same shielding techniques as Deanna. Fortunately for Michelle, whose abilities were only just starting to manifest openly, it wasn't nearly so loud in her mind but it was still noticeable for her.

Picard looked to Armis and said, "The _entire_ planet is basically one continuous city?" Armis said, "Pretty much; city block upon city block, building upon building. But for some small bodies of water to help maintain control of the overall weather system, a couple of mountain ranges and the polar caps where the water for the whole planet is transported from, Coruscant is a single entity built of ferrocrete, glass and transparisteel. Few people dare venture to the bottom most layers. Stories abound of troglodytic life forms, genetic and physical throwbacks and even animals that may have started as one thing but over the centuries, evolution adapted them to the dark spaces between buildings and down alleyways. While I personally have never been down to the lowest levels, I know of at least three Jedi who have, one in fact was largely raised down below by a foster parent of sorts. His name is Zekk. You might meet him someday. You will probably be meeting the other two in your interactions with other Jedi; their names are Jacen and Jaina Solo. They're the children of Leia Organa-Solo and her husband Han Solo whom you'll meet later today."

Commander Mythril stepped up from the crewpits, went to Armis and said, "We've just attained our orbit now Master Rau and the shuttle has been prepared and is ready to take you and your party down to one of the Senate V.I.P. landing platforms as soon as you're ready." Armis smiled at his XO and said, "Thank you for all your help Commander Mythril. I now return command of the Redemption to you. I hope we work together again someday, it's been a pleasure." Mythril actually smiled, slightly, and said, "The pleasure has been mine Master Rau. I too look forward to working with you again someday as well." Formalities concluded; Armis motioned to the others to follow him as they all boarded the turbolift to get their personnel bags from their quarters.

An hour later, Jean-Luc, Beverly, Michelle, Deanna and Armis were waiting to board a standard lambda class shuttle for transfer to the planet below, each with one bag on the deck near their feet and a palletized crate with the rest of their things nearby waiting to be loaded into the cargo area of the shuttle. Jean-Luc was in his dress uniform with Admiral's insignia on the collar; Beverly was dressed in a pale violet dress belted at the waist with matching shoes. Deanna wore one of her Counselor's pantsuits and matching belt with her hair held back at the top with a hairpiece that belonged to her mother. Michelle wore a khaki tan tunic with matching pants and boots, a utility belt around her waist with her lightsaber on a hook at her left hip and her hair done into a single braid that went to just below her shoulders. Armis was wearing his usual combination of robes and boots, all-weather cloak, lightsabers on their respective hooks on his belt and with his droid Creak nearby. When Ryu entered the V.I.P. bay, he was wearing the same style of clothing he wore when he met Michelle for the first time, the only addition being a simple white bag thrown over his left shoulder and the box that still held his Mother's lightsaber tucked under his right arm. Warbler following on his heels. Michelle couldn't help but ask, "Is that all you brought with you Ryu?" When he nodded yes, she shook her head in near disbelief and said, "Even after all my time in Starfleet, I've only ever been able to condense my life into two bags and a few small boxes of personnel effects. How do you do it?" When Ryu shrugged, Armis spoke up, "If it's any consolation Michelle, even _I_ can't figure out how he does it. In all the time I've known him, I've only ever seen him with that one bag. It's like it has no bottom or something. I figure it's just one of those mysteries that have no solution." Ryu said, "Ha, ha Armis. Just another one of the little things my dad taught me was how to pack a bag properly, and don't even get me started on how many bags Shazi takes with her whenever we go anywhere."

As Ryu came to stand next to his cousin, she asked, "Who's Shazi?" Ryu said, "Shaznia, or Shazi for short, is my wife and the mother of my two children. In fact, I can sense her waiting for me down below and she has our son and daughter with her. Their names are Kenod and Gabrielle. Kenod was born first and his sister was born three years later. Our daughter is named for my Mother. Shazi adored my parents when they first met. I'll never forget the day my folks met their first grandchild." Michelle said, "I'm looking forward to meeting everyone very much. How old are your kids?" Ryu said, "Kenod is 17 and Gabrielle is 14. Kenod is the Padawan Learner of Anakin Solo, the youngest of the Solo children but one of the more powerful of the Jedi Order. Gabrielle is the Padawan Learner of Mara Jade-Skywalker, the wife of the head of the Jedi Order, Luke Skywalker." Michelle said, "You're not their primary teacher then?" Ryu said, "No I'm not. Shazi and I started them in their training of course, but between the ages of 10 and 13, is when a Force Sensitive child is usually assigned a Master. It was deemed better this way so that the children still have the bonds of family and the strength that gives them as well as the emotional support. In the days of the Old Republic, Force Sensitive children were taken, with the parent's permission of course, as soon as they were born once the usual battery of tests that newborns go through revealed their midichlorian count. That was one of the first things that Master Skywalker made clear when he reestablished the Jedi Council was that children would not be taken from their families until they were better prepared for the rigors of Jedi Training. Sometimes though, a newborn is found abandoned at the entrance to the Temple. It's very sad when this happens. This is why the new Jedi Order maintains a crèche, like the old Order did in its day. The children are then given to a Master to raise as their Padawan Learner. Fortunately, it doesn't happen a lot, but it still does happen."

Beverly had listened the whole time as Ryu spoke and then said, "Surely you maintain a DNA database so that these foundlings can be returned to blood relatives?" Ryu said, "A database is maintained yes, but the New Republic is enormous and while no one is ever denied basic medical care, not everyone is listed in said database and because of the bureaucracy involved, it is distressingly easy to fall between the cracks. Most of the children left at the door aren't Force Sensitive and so are turned over to social services. For those few that are, those are the ones that we take care of. When they're old enough to understand though, they're told that they were foundlings and if they want to meet up with blood relatives, we facilitate their meeting with these relatives. To my knowledge, there have only been a few meetings between foundlings and blood relatives. I've only ever heard about them so I have no idea if they went well or not." Beverly had no comment for this and so went back to stand next to Jean-Luc and converse with him some more. As soon as the crate was loaded into the shuttle, everyone got aboard and the boarding ramp sealed behind them. The next step in their journey had begun.

The descent to the landing platform was brief and shortly after Picard felt the landing gear make contact with the landing platform, he saw light flood into the passenger compartment as the boarding ramp was lowered in a rush of pneumatic hums and hisses. He stood up, unconsciously tugged on the hem of his dress uniform and waited for Armis to precede him down the ramp. With Beverly behind him and Michelle and Deanna next in line, Ryu made up the end of the debarking passengers. As Picard's eyes adjusted to the daylight he saw three people standing on the far end of the platform waiting. Picard and the rest followed behind Armis as he stopped in front of an older woman, whom Picard saw and hazarded a mental guess that she stood between 1.5 and 1.7 meters tall or so, long brown hair with strands of gray running throughout that only enhanced her mature beauty in Picard's opinion. She wore simple robes the same shade as her hair with matching slippers and a lightsaber on her belt. Next to her stood an older man, much taller with hair that leaned towards gray more than jet black, rugged features and a small scar on his chin. He wore black pants with red striping up both legs, a fearsome looking gun on his right hip in a quick draw holster, white shirt and black vest. Completing his outfit were a pair of black boots that went to just below his knees. Just behind him was one of the tallest humanoids Picard had ever seen. The being was covered in long brown hair from head to foot and wore little more than a bandolier strap diagonally across its chest. Picard remembered one of the species briefings that Emerald had given him and identified the humanoid as a Wookie and from what Emerald had told him, he concluded that it had to be the wookie Chewbacca; copilot and best friend of Han Solo.

Armis bowed to her slightly and said, "Princess Leia, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, Ambassador-at-Large for the United Federation of Planets. With him is his wife Beverly and two soon-to-be Padawan Learners, Deanna Troi and Michelle Karú." Picard stepped forward and accepted the offered hand of Princess Leia and said, "Your Highness, it is with great pleasure that I make your acquaintance. I look forward to my duties here on this amazing city-planet as the representative of my people." Leia smiled and said, "Admiral Picard, I too am happy to meet you, my name is Leia Organa-Solo. I am the Jedi Council's representative to the Galactic Senate and as such am an Ambassador-at-Large the same as you. Armis told me much about you from his first meeting with you and I'm happy to see he was right on all counts. With me are my husband Han Solo and a family friend, Chewbacca." Picard shook Han's callused hand as Leia shook Beverly's hand and then Deanna's and Michelle's as well.

Leia said, "Admiral Picard, it was decided in council that your introduction to the Galactic Senate would be scheduled for seven days from today so that you can get acclimated to the planetary climate and environment here on Coruscant as well as interview the applicants for your staff. All of the applicants have been vetted by New Republic Intelligence as well as the Jedi Master Corran Horn who specializes in background investigations. For now, it would be my pleasure to escort you to your quarters on the diplomatic floors inside the Imperial Palace where you'll be staying. Would that be acceptable for now or did you have something specific in mind?" Picard said, "That would be more than acceptable Highness. Thank you for your consideration."

Turning to Deanna and Michelle, Leia said, "My brother Luke Skywalker will meet you both in the Jedi Council Chambers of the Temple as soon as you're ready. You'll both probably be staying there until a Master is assigned to you and arrangements made from there." Deanna and Michelle both thanked her as she went back over to Jean-Luc and Beverly and spoke with them some more. Michelle started walking over to Ryu as he dropped his bag from his shoulder, set the box down that carried his Mother's lightsaber in it and embraced a beautiful woman with jet black hair arranged in three loops, one over each ear and the third behind her head. She immediately identified Ryu's wife Shaznia from his description of her. As the two broke from their reunion kiss, two teenagers ran over to them both and called out loudly, "Dad! We missed you!", as they joined together in a family hug. As Michelle finished walking over Ryu held out a hand to her and said to his family, "Shazi, Kenod, Gabrielle, I want you to meet my cousin Michelle Karú."

Shaznia's voice was soft without being faint as she said, "That's wonderful Ryu! I remember your dad telling me once of the message he sent back to his homeworld. This then must be a great granddaughter of his sister. I won't ask about the time differential since I can sense the filial bond she has with you in the Force." Holding out her hand which Michelle accepted without hesitating, Shaznia shook it and said, "Welcome to the family Michelle. My name is Shaznia Dree-Jayks, you can call me Shazi if you like. I want you to meet your cousins, Ryu's and my children." Michelle stepped over to the two teenagers. By virtue of being older than his sister, Kenod was taller than Michelle as he shook her hand and said, "I'm happy to meet you cousin. My name is Kenod Jayks." The girl shook hands with Michelle next and said, "Hi there. My name is Gabrielle Jayks. Glad to meet you too." Shaznia spoke again, "Until you're assigned a Jedi Master, you'll stay with us. We have more than enough space and I think we'd all like you to tell us all of our extended family on your side of the rift; pictures too if you have them." Michelle was overwhelmed by the quick acceptance into her new extended family and started to stifle back tears of joy as she said, "I'd be happy to tell you anything you want to know Shazi. I have to admit to being overwhelmed by all this. I wasn't sure if you'd be so accepting and I'm so glad my misgivings, what few I had, are gone now, thank you. Thank you very, very much." The two women embraced to be joined in turn by Kenod, Gabrielle and Ryu.

Introductions concluded; Deanna and Michelle bade farewell to Jean-Luc and Beverly as they got into an airbus with Leia, Han and Chewbacca. Moments after they left, another airbus pulled up, boarded this time by Deanna, Michelle, Armis and Ryu. Shaznia and the children made plans and would meet again later at their home. As the airbus merged with the traffic, Deanna and Michelle were helplessly gawking out the windscreens as they saw all the different vehicles and people operating them. Soon, in the distance and getting closer by the moment, a monolithic structure of five spires, one on each corner and the tallest in the center, situated atop an even larger rectangular structure that gradually slanted up towards the center tower could be seen. Armis walked over to the two soon-to-be-Padawans and said, "If you haven't already felt it in the Force, up ahead is the rebuilt Jedi Temple. Few descriptions and even fewer pictures survived the Jedi Purge that Palpatine instigated. Ryu's adopted brother Dieter Jayks-Bree was able to restore some computerized learning modules that were recovered from private collections as well as a few caches found scattered around the outer rim worlds of Jedi Lore. Structurally, the rebuilt Temple is identical to the original in almost every way. It was built on the site of the original Temple so as to take advantage of the focal point of Force energies there. No one has been able to figure out why that particular site is so focused in the Force, it just is. Internally, it is a combination of living quarters, dining facilities, training rooms, meditation alcoves and even our own hangar. We mostly have light repulsor-craft specifically for the use of the Jedi Order stored in the hangar but we do have a few personal ships as well. Earlier, when we first met up with you back on your side of the rift, Ryu and I had just finished our assignment of the time which was to see to the building of several other Jedi Temples all over our galaxy. Some big, some small, some hidden, most out in the open."

Ryu continued the narrative at this point, "My dad had proposed the idea to Master Skywalker originally that if there had been several Temples built and scattered about, then Palpatine would possibly have missed some during his purge of the Jedi and we wouldn't have lost so much knowledge. Master Skywalker liked the idea and as soon as the new Jedi Order had the resources to do so, he had several of his most trusted and senior Knights and other Master's go out and listening to no other guide but the Force, make the necessary plans to start building these other Temples. Currently, we already have over a dozen other Temples under construction, when each Temple that is to be in the open is completed, it will have its own cadre of Masters and Knights assigned to each. In this manner we'll be able to expand instead of keeping everything focused here on Coruscant. When we're done, there will be hundreds of them, and only a few of us will know them all."

Michelle said, "For those Temples that are to be hidden, how can you keep the construction crews from talking about their locations?" Armis said, "In every place that is to be a hidden Temple, is a series of shell corporations and investments to act as buffers. The various planetary economies are more than happy to have the credits invested in their infrastructures and won't ask where they come from. Droids will be used for the majority of the construction, their memories wiped when the work is done and while I'm not too happy about that point since one of my best friends is a droid, it will be a necessary step; and for those few unavoidable organic builders, a gentle Force suggestion of forgetfulness, a fair wage for work performed and a few sliced computer records will tie up any loose ends."

While Deanna and Michelle listened, the airbus they were on arrived at the hangar that Armis mentioned. After they had debarked the airbus auto-piloted itself into parking ring and shut down; elsewhere in the hangar could be seen some X-wings as well as other craft. As Armis led the way to an elevator, he said, "Among other things, those of us who were pilots before we became Jedi were able to purchase our own personal craft. My X-wing is over there as well as Master Skywalker's ship. His original Red-5 that he flew at the Battles of Yavin, Hoth and other places was donated to the Galactic Museum a few years ago and he had to buy a new X-wing that was rechristened into a new Red-5." The elevator they took opened onto a magnificent foyer near the main entrance. All around could be seen other beings, droids and children, most, though not all of the people going about their business wore lightsabers. When Deanna asked, Ryu said, "The Temple employs a number of non-Force Sensitive people in routine tasking, maintenance and other assorted and sundry jobs. At this time, we have several children in residence. Most are the children of other Jedi; some were left at the door and are too young yet to be assigned a Master to begin their instruction so they go to communal classes with some of the other children who are just about to be assigned a Master. In the years since Master Skywalker began teaching on Yavin 4, there are now maybe 500 full Jedi Knights. Of that 500, roughly 1/3 of them are Masters. We're growing every year and someday there will be as many of us as there were in the heyday of the Old Republic." The group entered another elevator that had viewing windows lengthwise along its entirety and so they saw themselves raise into the air, up the central spire and the Jedi Council chambers therein.

When the elevator opened, the room was empty yet waves of peace could be felt emanating from behind the Council doors. The floor of the foyer was polished marble with the anchor-like symbol of the New Republic surrounded by stars inlaid into it. Around the walls were padded benches and a couple of small terminals. Miscellaneous artwork decorated the walls that only increased the sense of peace and rightness to the room. The doors opened as the party neared them and they entered the Council Chamber itself. The floor here too was also of polished marble, this time with a large red cross in the center. Surrounding the cross was a series of chairs, some clearly made for human or humanoid occupants, others for clearly alien ones. The room was empty except for a man in the center of the cross who was floating in midair, legs in what Michelle recognized as a lotus position. He was dressed in black tunic, black pants and black boots similar to the ones that Deanna and Michelle saw Han Solo wearing. On his right hand was a black glove and a silver-handled lightsaber on his belt at his left hip.

As the doors closed silently behind them, the man put his legs underneath himself as if he was standing up from a chair and recovered from his meditation. He had been the source of the waves of peace that everyone had felt out in the foyer. He was older, with fine lines at the corners of his eyes and clearly defined smile lines around his mouth. His hair was a much lighter shade of brown than his sister Leia's with some gray at the temples and his eyes were a piercing shade of deep blue that seemed to look right through a person. His voice had a quality of tenor that immediately made you want to listen to anything he had to say. He said, "Greetings, I am Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight and current head of the reconstituted Jedi Order. I have foreseen this moment and am glad to finally make your acquaintances Michelle Karú and Deanna Troi." He turned his blue gaze to each woman in turn as he identified them. Armis stepped forward, bowed slightly at the waist and said, "Greetings Master Skywalker. My mission was a success. I was able to reestablish contact with the Federation and bring back their envoy so that formal diplomatic relations can begin. Ryu and I have also brought back two Force Sensitives who are ready to begin their Jedi training so that a branch of the Jedi Order might someday be grown in the Federation."

Luke stepped up to Michelle first and said, "Not only do I sense the filial connection you have with my fellow Jedi, Ryu Jayks, but I also sense an intuitive grasp of the sciences and related technologies." Michelle blushed slightly at the unexpected praise, cleared her throat and said, "Thank you for your kind words Master Skywalker. Back in Starfleet, I was a certified Master Level Technician for many of the shipboard systems of my ship the Titan, Ryu is my cousin." Luke said, "Cousin? Then Ronin Jayks was your uncle?" When Michelle nodded yes, Luke continued, "Ronin was a good man and even better friend. He was the second person to become an acknowledged Jedi Master. I learned much from him and him from me. When I was able to finish his son Ryu's training, we became even greater friends. I take it that you will be staying with your cousin and his family then?" Michelle said, "If you have no objections Master, I would like to do so, yes." Luke said, "The family has become one of the founding tenets of the new Jedi Order. I have no objections."

Turning to Deanna, Luke said, "Deanna Troi, I sense something disturbs you. What would that be, if you don't mind my asking?" Deanna smiled weakly and said, "I don't mind at all Master Skywalker. It's just that when you said that the family is one of the founding tenets, I, for a moment, missed my husband. We plan on starting a family ourselves someday but with the temporal discrepancy between our two galaxies, I'm not sure when we'll be able to do that." Luke said, "One of my teachers in the Jedi way once said to me, 'Worry you should not', I say this to you now because in my meditations, I was made aware of the time difference and what I can tell you of it is that for millennia now, our two galaxies have been resonating and coming more and more into synchronicity with each other. In Ronin's time, the difference came to be measured in centuries. By the time Armis had entered your galaxy and returned it had narrowed into a decade or so. By the time you finish your training Deanna, the time difference will be down to only a few months. Eventually the difference will dissipate and the passage of time will be equal. So, worry you should not, you will have your family one day."

Walking back to the center of the Council Chamber, Luke said, "I asked for you both to be brought here so that I could meet you and explain some small matters to you. Deanna, you're already a natural empath so your training will focus on bringing all your other latent abilities to the surface so that you can harness and learn from them. I will ask Cilghal if she will consent to be your Jedi Master. Her abilities too manifested as intense empathy with and for others; one of the reasons that she is such a skilled diplomat and healer I think. Michelle, I will ask my niece Jaina Solo if she would be your Jedi Master. Like you, she is more attuned to how the Force cooperates with many of the scientific and technological disciplines." Addressing both women he said, "Your training will be different from any other you have undertaken. You both will have as much to unlearn as to learn. There will be days when you'll ask yourself 'What was I thinking?' that will be normal. There will also be times when you will fear what you learn. On those days, and they _will_ come, believe me, seek the counsel of your Masters and your friends." Deanna and Michelle absorbed Luke's words and it was Deanna who spoke first, "With respect, I already know something of the fear of which you speak Master Skywalker. I conquered those fears long ago and with regard to this greater potential within me, I'm not afraid." Michelle nodded her head in emphatic agreement.

With a knowing look in his eyes, Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master of the reconstituted Jedi Order said, "You will be . . . _you will be._"


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

After her meeting with Luke, Michelle bade farewell to Deanna and went home with Ryu. Upon her arrival, she was told dinner would be ready soon and she was shown the guest room she would be sleeping in. After coming back out to the central living area, she looked around at her surroundings for the first time. Sparsely furnished yet still comfortable, she could see from the main room that the kitchen adjoined it with no dividing wall between the two and a dining table that could be adjusted to fit for any reasonable number of people sitting at it; a hallway led to Kenod, Gabrielle's and the guest room with a 'fresher station at the end of that hall. Across the main room was another hallway with Ryu and Shazi's bedroom, another 'fresher station and another pair of multipurpose rooms that could be configured for storage or more guest rooms. Each wall had sound-proofed windows that could be made opaque or clear at the touch of a button. Michelle could see it was nearing sunset as she glanced out the window. In the corner of her eye she saw a small table sitting next to the wall, just below another window. In a special slot of the table could be seen the box that Ryu had made that held his mother's lightsaber in it. On the surface of this table could be seen a small holo-crystal that lit up to show an image of Ronin Jayks and a woman that had to be his wife Gabrielle, standing together. Next to that was a scabbard with a sword, standing upright in a holder.

Michelle walked over to the table, looked closely at the holo-image and the sword in its scabbard next to it. At first she couldn't believe her eyes and the memory of Ryu saying to her, '_Your eyes can deceive you, don't trust them_,' came back to her and she had to believe then. To her trained eye, the sword was a katana. An actual Japanese Katana. Ryu walked up behind her and said, "I see you've found another family heirloom. That sword was also my dad's only it was from before his Jedi training. He called it a Muramasa, whatever that is, and it was the only thing I was never allowed to touch. He told me that though the blade isn't sentient, it _does_have a spirit all its own. Of the few times I have touched it since my Father's passing, one was to set it there in that stand it's in when Shazi and I first moved into this place. Like my mother's vortex spin kick, I've only ever seen it used in combat once. I was still a kid at the time when some bounty hunters were hired to kill my dad, my mom and me." Michelle asked, "Uncle Ronin didn't use his lightsaber?" Ryu continued, "He tried, but the leader of this pack of hunters had learned of something called cortorsis ore. Cortorsis is a fairly unremarkable ore except that it has the ability to cause a lightsaber blade to short out. Not permanently burn out, but shut down. When my dad found this out the hard way, he had to draw that sword. My mom tried to cover my eyes at the time but using the Force, it was like seeing from all directions at once. My dad decapitated the leader of the hunter pack in a single stroke, almost like a lightsaber. Seeing the hunter become the hunted, watching his head part from his neck, and hearing the hiss of spraying blood, was a disturbing sight to behold. On the one hand, I knew what would happen as soon as my dad drew that fearsome blade but on the other, it was kind of traumatic for a kid to witness. My Father cleaned the blade and since then, it has remained in its scabbard, in a place of honor. I have no desire to even pick it up, let alone learn how to use it but since it was my dad's, I don't have it in me to get rid of it." Michelle nodded in understanding. Looking to Ryu for permission, he gave it and then she took the sword down and drew it from its scabbard. The blade glinted brightly in the fading light of day as she cut the air a couple of times with it. Though she couldn't explain it, she felt distinctly uneasy as she held it. Reseating the blade in its scabbard, she replaced it in the holder atop the table, bowed deeply to the blade and turned back to the main room with Ryu trailing her.

Later that night, over dinner, Michelle asked, "Ryu, if you don't mind my asking, how did you and Shazi first meet?" Kenod and his sister Gabrielle's eyes both lit up at this question. Kenod said, "Yea dad, do tell. You've never mentioned it before, now that I think about it." Ryu took a sip of water from the glass near his hand and said simply, "That's because you never asked son. Ask your mother, she tells a better story than I." Shazi playfully stuck her tongue out at her husband and said, "Nerf herder."

Everyone's attention shifted to Shaznia as she said, "If you're thinking it was some grand rescue similar to Leia's Organa's rescue from the first Death Star or some epic romance, you can jettison that notion right out the nearest airlock. Simply put, your father, before he was your father, kicked my sorry tail left, right and diagonally." Both teenagers' eyes widened again at this notion and in a flash of insight, Michelle said, "He defeated you in a fight didn't he?"

Shazi smiled and said, "Very good Michelle. Yes, he did defeat me. Not once or twice, but three times. After that third time we both knew it had to be love. The rest is history." Gabrielle snorted out loud as Ryu said, "That's a bit of an oversimplification, but essentially correct." Gabrielle finally spoke, "Come on dad; give us the details." Ryu took another sip of water and said, "Before I took my dad's place as constable of New Hope colony, but after I had completed my Jedi training, I was wandering the star lanes. I was exploring where the Force directed, looking for some kind of direction and more or less fell into the tournament martial arts circuit."

"Like I told Michelle shortly after she first came aboard the Redemption to come back here with me, I told her that my martial art, Teräs Käsi, had been around for centuries but only a trained Force user can tap into its full power." Kenod said, "I remember you telling mom, Gabrielle and me the exact same thing when you started training each of us in its use but how does this relate to how you two first met?" Ryu smiled and said, "Patience, young Padawan. The story is far from done." Kenod looked abashed momentarily as memories of his training with Master Anakin came to mind.

Ryu continued, "As I said, I fell into the tournament circuit. The first few tournaments I entered were strictly preliminary bouts and not very well organized, to cull the weakest of the competitors. When I finally got to the major tournament circuits, I informed the advisory board of the GFC, the Galactic Fight Commission, that I was a Jedi. At first it was thought I had cheated in the preliminaries but when I told them what I was I was shifted over into the special circumstances division. In this division were others, many of them Force Sensitive though few knew this at the time. Some, by virtue of species, were naturally empathic and so were able to see into each fight and by way of this sight, defeat normal sentient fighters. It may sound mean-spirited but I first saw Shazi at one of these special division bouts but I didn't really care at the time. I wasn't looking for a life-partner yet, so it was only natural that she stood out in my mind."

Michelle, Shazi and Kenod all chuckled at this comment but Gabrielle, being only 14, was only just discovering boys and was a little confused. He continued, "Anyway, these tournaments were broken down into weight classes like any other tournament but if there was no one else in that weight class, a competitor had the option of stepping up to the next heavier weight class or withdrawing from the competition. Shazi made quick work of her first couple of opponents but when there was no one else, she stepped up to my weight class. There were no other women so she chose to fight me."

Shazi spoke now, "I was pretty sure of myself after winning my first fights. I faced off with Ryu and told him not to hold back just because I'm a woman. He took my comment at face value and defeated me pretty quickly. I didn't know yet that his Father had trained him in Teräs Käsi. I had heard of the Jedi Master Ronin Jayks by this time but didn't know that he had a son. Ryu beat me pretty easily and since I was still an arrogant little nexu at the time, I lost my temper and tried to attack him after he had been awarded the win. He wrapped me up into a rear-naked choke so quickly; I didn't know what hit me. As I lost consciousness he whispered into my ear, 'A defeat learned from is more important than an empty victory'.

The teenagers' were visibly surprised at the thought that their mother could ever be so short tempered as Shazi continued, "Lucky for me, Ryu spoke up in my defense or I might've been banned from competing ever again. After I woke up I went looking for him because I wanted a rematch and so I practiced harder than before so that I might actually meet and defeat him. I chased after him for almost a year, always missing him by the narrowest of margins before I finally caught up with him again. We met again in the finals of the special division just like before. At first I was dismayed because I saw that he had gotten better since we fought. Funny thing, at first I went after him because I wanted my fighters' pride back, or so I thought, because I didn't know yet that I was Force Sensitive, but it was only later that I realized it was the Force prompting me to go after him. At any rate, he'd improved, but so had I, but he still defeated me, this time with his Rising Punch." This time the teenagers' looked at their father with a new light in their eyes as they digested the fact that their father had hit their mother with one of his more powerful techniques.

Ryu spoke now, "She's right, she had improved, as had I. It was a near thing a time or two in that bout. I think I only won because I was fully trained in the Force while she was still what's known as a wilder, someone who unconsciously uses the Force but doesn't realize what it is that makes her so strong. I was afraid I might have hit her too hard and so stayed with her until she woke up. When she did, I told her that she had fought well and that I felt honored. I left after that and didn't see her again for another year or so. Since I wasn't really concerned with winning any kind of title or recognition, I was kind of oblivious to my standings in the GFC rankings. I wasn't fighting for glory, honor or money; though some of those things came my way regardless of my intentions, but for the sheer experience and travel opportunities it was giving me. Don't get me wrong, I was meeting some very accomplished fighters and taking some pretty good hits in the special division bouts but somehow, I still came out on top each time. When Shazi and I met for the last time, we were evenly matched by this point. She wants to say that I defeated her but actually, I won our final fight only by virtue of remaining conscious a few seconds longer."

Shazi looked embarrassed this time as she conceded the point and said, "I remember that day like it was yesterday. We were both pretty well beaten and bloodied. Just before I passed out Ryu said to me, 'The Force keeps bringing us together and then we part ways. It is with you as strongly as with me though you need to be properly trained. Let us stop parting. Be with me and the Force will be with us both.' I wish I could say it was a romantic way of being proposed to but it was what it was. I said okay and passed out. Later when going over the recordings I saw that he had caught me in his arms and then managed to sit down against the wall of the arena with my head on his shoulder as he passed out too, only to be awakened seconds later with the news that he had won the special division title. After the awards ceremony that I persuaded him to attend, originally he would've walked away from it; we traveled together for several months as we got to know one another properly and he showed me the ways of the Force. By the time he officially asked me to marry him, I thought I would have to propose to him. We got married and went home to New Hope Colony where he took over from his Father as Constable and a few years after that you were born Kenod and three years after that, you were born Gabrielle. The rest you both know from there on." Kenod and Gabrielle were silent as they absorbed the story their parents had just told them.

Michelle said, "How long were you the Constable then?" Ryu said, "I stayed on for a few years. Shortly after my dad died, I wanted to be closer to the rebuilding of the new Jedi Order. Armis had already been trained by this time and was helping Master Skywalker, so Shazi and I talked it over and then decided to move here to Coruscant. I resigned as Constable but the Leadership Council of New Hope agreed to my recommendation of a replacement Constable, someone who had been trained by Master Corran Horn, himself a fully trained investigator from before he knew he was Force Sensitive, so that New Hope Colony could still benefit from a Jedi as its primary law enforcement officer. Until Master Skywalker had need of me, Shazi and I decided to use our combined tournament winnings to open a Teräs Käsi dojo here on Coruscant. Altruism aside, the galaxy in general and Coruscant specifically still runs on money. We earn a comfortable living training anyone who wants to learn. Most of what Shazi and I earn is invested back into our dojo as well as various donations to charity. For your future reference Michelle, the Jedi Order will pay your way during your training, apprenticeship and eventual Knighthood. Shazi and I started our dojo before Master Skywalker started sending us on assignments and never asks both of us to go offworld at the same time. He understands how much we enjoy teaching. This is how we've found a few Force Sensitive people that we were able to introduce to Master Skywalker and in doing so help bolster the ranks of the new Jedi Order."

Michelle cogitated this and then said, "Do you think Master Skywalker will promote you to Master like he did Uncle Ronin?" Ryu said, "Personally, I don't feel I'm ready for a Padawan Learner of my own but if he does, he does. I'll do the best job I possibly can. Until then, I'm content to train all interested persons either in the Temple or out of it, the ways of Teräs Käsi. When Armis came to me and asked me to accompany him to the Federation side of the rift, I wasn't sure that Master Skywalker would ever have need of me. I'm glad now, very glad that he did. Otherwise, we'd never have met Cousin. Now, tell us of your family."

After dinner was cleared away, Shazi, Ryu, Kenod and Gabrielle all went into the living room and sat around a low table as Michelle got out the pictures she brought with her from home. As she started to describe her family, she held out specific pictures and said, "My mom works for the Bureau of Energy which is responsible for finding more efficient ways of distributing power all over Earth, our moon and the various civilian facilities throughout the Sol System, what we call our home solar system. This includes observatories, other energy transmission facilities and scientific research stations as well. My dad works as a civilian attaché for the Diplomatic Corps. home office on Earth. He helps human, humanoid, and non-human diplomats settle into their duties with the Federation Council. This includes coordinating any special accommodations like atmosphere or gravity for the various Ambassadors as well as helping them find whatever recreational activities that might interest them. I have one older brother who teaches at Starfleet Academy and two younger sisters. I have a few aunts and uncles scattered around some of the oldest Earth colonies and two cousins who are also in Starfleet the same as me although we've never been posted to the same assignment."

Michelle laughed as she said, "Originally my parents, while not actively against my joining Starfleet, did try to direct my energies towards other pursuits. More out of fear that I might end up in the Security division, which has always had an unfortunately high rate of attrition, or that I might encounter the Borg somewhere in my travels aboard whatever ship I was assigned to. I was quite certain though, from an early age, that my path was offworld, in the star lanes somewhere. Which is why I always did the best I could in my classes in school and in my extracurricular activities. By doing well in my classes, I knew I would have a wider field to select my eventual job in Starfleet. I found that I really enjoyed working behind the scenes, fixing things and making things happen so I went into a branch of the Engineering field that specialized in general systems maintenance and the like. I found the niche that I fit best into and rose in the ranks fairly quickly for someone my age and until I met you Ryu, I would've stayed on for a full career and stopped only after Starfleet put me on mandatory retirement."

Shazi spoke now, "Did you ever think you might want to settle down, have a husband and start a family Michelle?" Michelle said, "Sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I like men just fine, I've had a couple of boyfriends over the years and have no problems with children especially because I helped to raise my two younger sisters but I never really felt an overwhelming sense of need for my own family. I guess I just kind of figured that if Starfleet wanted me to have a husband they'd have issued me one." Kenod spoke now, "Don't worry Michelle. Once you've finished your training, you'll find your soulmate." Gabrielle spoke now, "That's right. Even though I've only been actively training for a little over a year and a half, my Master, Mara Jade-Skywalker told me early on in my training that since life creates the Force, makes it grow, it would only be a matter of time until I meet my equal, but I'm in no hurry since I'm having a lot of fun in my training."

Turning his attention to his daughter, Ryu took a breath and said, "Speaking of training, I've spoken with Master Jade-Skywalker and she tells me that its time." Gabrielle said, "Time for what dad?" He said, "Time for this," and summoning the box that held his Mother's lightsaber in it from across the room with the Force, took it in hand and held it out to his daughter. Almost reverently, Gabrielle took the box from his hands, set it down on the same low table that Michelle had set her pictures on and opened it. She knew what was in the box, it had never been a secret but she was still taken aback a little by the gesture her father was making to her. Opening the box and setting aside the soft cloth that covered the weapon; she took it from its storage nook and held it in both hands. So many memories came to her as she held her grandmother's lightsaber; all the time they spent together, all the fond memories, that she couldn't restrain a tear from her eye. In a seeming daze, she stood up from the couch, walked to the center of the room and focusing the Force, activated it on the first attempt. The purple amethyst blade came to life in the trademark _snap-hiss_of a lightsaber. Holding it in her hands, she executed a short kata from the First Form of lightsaber discipline flawlessly. Deactivating the blade she ran back to her father and gave him a tight hug and thanked him. Returning the hug and giving his daughter a kiss on her forehead he said, "Your welcome Dear Heart."

The next morning as Ryu was preparing breakfast for his family, the front door chimed to indicate that someone was requesting entrance. Performing a quick Force scan on the other side of the door showed two Master-level Force presences. Walking over to the door, he opened it to see who he expected, Jedi Master Mara Jade-Skywalker and her niece, also a Jedi Master, Jaina Solo. Out of reflex, he made a short bow at the waist and said, "Master Jade-Skywalker, Master Solo, welcome to my home. Please come in and know yourselves welcome to join us for breakfast." Mara turned her jade green eyes to Ryu and said, "Still as formal as ever I see, eh, Ryu? Jaina turned her coffee brown eyes to him and said, "I can't speak for Aunt Mara here, but since you taught me all I know of Teräs Käsi, to me, you're just as much a friend and teacher as she is. You don't need to address me by title. Soon enough, Uncle Luke will promote you to Master like he did me."

Ryu said, "Sorry Mas-- er, I mean Jaina, old habits die hard." Jaina chuckled and said, "No blood, no foul Ryu. Where's your cousin, my Padawan Learner?" Ryu offered the two women seats at the table and went back to his breakfast preparations and allowed for two more plates. He said, "Michelle is trying on some outfits that Shazi bought for her so that she'll have something besides an all weather cloak and the clothes she brought with her to wear; oh and Mara, I gave Gabrielle my mother's lightsaber last night just as you suggested and it was amazing the tremor in the Force that I felt from her when she activated it on the first attempt." Mara nodded and said, "That's good to hear Ryu. I knew she would take to it right away. Personally, I'm really looking forward to teaching her the lightsaber. She's going to start going on assignment with me and it will be nice for Ben, mine and Luke's son, to have someone his own age to train with as well."

As Mara finished speaking, the subject of the conversation came out of her room, her lightsaber hanging prominently from its hook on her belt, saw the two Masters, came over to them and respectfully bowed to both. Mara said, "Hello Gabrielle. Did you enjoy your holiday with your family?" Gabrielle said, "Yes Master, I did, very much; thank you for allowing me the time to see them all again." Mara said, "Your welcome. You'll be spending more time with me and you'll also start going on assignment with me but I'll see to it that you can still see them when time allows for it." Gabrielle said, "Yes Master."

About this time, Michelle walked out of the guest room wearing one of the new outfits that Shazi had gotten for her, lightsaber on her belt as well, carrying two bags, one in each hand. Setting her bags in the living room she came over to the kitchen area. Ryu said, "Michelle Karú, I'd like you to meet Jedi Master Mara Jade-Skywalker, my daughter's teacher, and your new teacher, Jedi Master Jaina Solo. Mara, Jaina, I'd like you to meet my cousin Michelle Karú." Michelle bowed to each woman as they were identified and said to Jaina, "It's a pleasure to meet you Master Solo. I look forward to my training very, very much." Jaina returned the bow her Padawan gave her and said, "I'm happy to meet you as well Michelle. I'm looking forward to completing your training as well. I'm between assignments right now so I've taken a pair of rooms in the Temple for us but you'll still be able to meet with Ryu and his family from time to time."

Shazi entered the kitchen area followed by Kenod and helped finish the breakfast preparations that Ryu had started. After breakfast was done and cleared away, farewells of the moment were completed. After a long hug with her parents, Gabrielle left with Mara, Michelle with Jaina and Kenod took the code cylinder for one of the family speeders and left to meet up with his teacher, Jedi Master Anakin Solo. Lastly, Ryu and Shazi left for the day to go to their dojo in the city to prepare for the next inter-dojo rank exam.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

After bidding goodbye to Michelle in the main foyer of the Temple after their meeting with Master Skywalker, Deanna took a room in the Temple and started to explore the structure that would be her occasional home in the years to come. She had no illusions that she would complete her training in any kind of record time but somehow, she was content with this. Master Skywalker's knowledge of the temporal difference between her home galaxy and this one was encouraging as were his words of comfort that the temporal difference would eventually disappear as the two galaxies came into synchronicity.

Armis had told her that Master Cilghal would be returning to the Temple within a fortnight anyway and would be approached by Master Skywalker to become Deanna's Jedi Master at that time. Until then, Armis had volunteered to be her interim teacher and Master Skywalker had accepted the offer gratefully as that his plate was already full as the Head of the Jedi Order and as the Jedi Master of his own son, Ben Skywalker. After Armis showed her to her room, he then showed her the nearest meditation alcove as well as the dining facility. After repeated promptings from Deanna, Armis said he would return in three days after he got caught up on local events with his own wife and family. Deanna wasn't overly worried as soon as she saw her room had a terminal of its own that could access the local network as well as continue her instruction in Galactic Basic which she had started on the Redemption when she wasn't working with Armis on something Force related. Her first order of business had been to start a Personal Log.

"Personal Log, local month and day unknown at this time; time of day, approximately 1300 hours Coruscant local time. Well, I'm here now; in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. I'm looking forward to beginning my training with Master Cilghal, if she accepts me, or with any other teacher that is assigned to me. When I first saw Coruscant from orbit, I was _so_ glad I had reinforced my mental shields; otherwise, I think the empathic 'noise' of such a huge, continuous city would have been positively overwhelming. Beverly gave me the comm-channel address that she and the Admiral would be at but I don't want to distract her right now. If my task to begin learning the Jedi way seems big, I can't even speculate on how big her task will be to begin the scientific and medical information exchange between the New Republic, Imperial Remnant and Federation. Until Master Cilghal arrives, Armis Rau has volunteered to be my interim teacher. I think though, starting tomorrow morning, I'll start in the general Padawan classes. I've already explored some of the Temple but it will take me time to learn the entire layout because this building is bigger than it looks from the outside. I think Armis would use some Force-related maxim about judging from size alone or some such. My meeting with Master Skywalker was intriguing to say the least. Especially that knowing look he gave me when he said that sooner or later 'I _would_ be afraid'. I'm not going to speculate on what he meant by that except to say that the brief flash of absolute certainty I picked up from him before his mental shields snapped shut was . . . was . . . I'm not really sure what it was so I think I'll just have to take it on faith that he knows what he's talking about. For now, I'm going to keep this personal log. Of all people, I know exactly why I'm doing it. It's going to be a vital coping mechanism for my first year or so of training. I've left my husband, friends and everything that was familiar to me to better learn of my full potential. I think this will be an important step for me to take in order to evolve as a person, and as a counselor. At any rate, I'm going to end this log entry and take a nap before I start to ramble."

An hour later, after a much needed nap, Deanna was awake and working on her next lesson in Basic when there was a knock on her door. Automatically, she did an empathic scan of the mind on the other side of the door but only found the typical Jedi blank spot. She opened it to see a young man with brown hair and an equally brown full-face beard. His eyes were coffee-brown and he wore an off-white tunic with matching pants and black boots that went to just below his knees. Of the few items on his utility belt, the only thing Deanna recognized was his lightsaber. She said, "How can I help you Master?" He smiled brightly and said, "Deanna Troi? The name's Jacen Solo. I may be a Jedi Master by rank but you can just call me Jacen if you like since I'm not your primary teacher. My Uncle, Luke Skywalker, asked me to come by and get you and introduce you to some of the general Jedi instructors that you'll be working with while Armis is away and until you're officially assigned a Master."

Deanna nodded her head at Jacen's question and said, "Please call me Deanna. Thank you very much for the offer Jacen. I'd like that; especially as that I'm only just beginning to get an idea of the layout of this place." Jacen smiled again and said, "No problem Deanna; happy to do it. If you like, we can go right now and I'll give you the full tour while I'm at it. Would that be okay with you?" Deanna smiled and said, "Lead the way Jacen."

Jacen took Deanna to the children's classrooms first. As a gesture of respect to Luke's primary instructor, the departed Jedi Master Yoda, the children were collectively referred to as 'Younglings' and Deanna saw that Jedi Younglings were started on Lightsaber basics very early. From there they went to the teenager's classes where she saw them working on telekinetic exercises that made Deanna mentally shake her head in mild disbelief. Compared to her first attempts at telekinesis, these teenagers were light-years ahead of her. After that, Jacen took her to the adult classes, where she would be starting the next day. These people were descendants of other Jedi who had escaped Palpatine's Order 66 and like her, were facing some of the same challenges of having their entire paradigm turned upside down and 'unlearning' much of what they had learned as hard fact and inescapable science from the time they were Younglings themselves. When Deanna met Kam Solusar, she involuntarily shivered after leaving his classroom. Jacen said, "Don't feel badly Deanna. Kam considers himself a haunted man for some of the decisions he made and acted on in his past and at first, he can seem intimidating but once you get to know him and his wife Tionne, you'll see that he comes on so strong because he's so determined to help the new generations of Jedi to _not_ make the same mistakes he did. In fact, it's mostly his wife's influence that he's mellowed as much as he has. When my sister Jaina and I first met him, we were only fourteen. To us he seemed a stone-cold giant at first but as time went by, we both learned a lot from him and saw him for the caring person he really is."

Deanna nodded her head in understanding and saw the glint of a ring on his left hand and said, "So, you're married Jacen?" He unconsciously ran his thumb over his wedding band and said, "Yea. Her name is Tenel Ka. We met at the Academy on Yavin 4 originally. By birth, she's the heir-apparent to the Hapes Star Cluster. When she agreed to marry me, she was next in line to rule but then she abdicated her claim to the throne with the birth of her younger sister. Since then, we've been on assignment here and there. In fact, we just got back from a recruiting trip to the Hapes Cluster; seems that a few others who survived Order 66 found sanctuary there and there descendants are starting to surface now." Deanna said, "Having only just met you Jacen I can tell already that you love your wife very much. I too have a husband but I had to leave him behind in my home galaxy so that I could train. What of your sister Jaina and your brother Anakin, both of whom I've only heard of but haven't met yet."

Jacen felt in the Force, Deanna's sincere intent and also knew that anything he told her would be held in strictest confidence and said, "My sister is kind of in between relationships I guess you could say. On the one hand is our mutual friend Zekk whom we grew up with here on Coruscant. He was raised in the lower levels and we would all go to places that small children, especially small children of the New Republic Head of State had no business being. The adventures we had as kids make for some hair-raising tales but I won't bore you with them . . . yet. On the other hand is a really neat fellow from the Imperial Remnant, name of Jagged Fel. He's a pilot and an officer in the Chiss Ascendancy out on the outer most of the outer rim. They don't see very much of each other, their respective duties keep them pretty busy. I have no idea if she'll settle down with one of them or someone else entirely. Our younger brother Anakin is engaged to a girl he met when he went to the Academy. Her name is Tahiri Veila. Tenel Ka and I have been away for awhile now so I haven't had a chance to catch up with those two. All I know for certain right now is that Anakin is the primary teacher of Kenod Jayks, Ryu's son."

Jacen showed Deanna around a little more and the two made small talk. After dinner in the main dining room, Jacen bid Deanna goodbye, and she found her way to the meditation alcove nearest her room to see it was empty. She settled herself on the raised seat, folded her legs into a lotus position and began her nightly exercises in opening herself to the Force just as Armis had taught her and reflected on making a new friend. She mused to herself that if she could make other friends as quickly as she did with Jacen, then maybe her time away from her Imzadi wouldn't be nearly as onerous as she thought.

In the fortnight between her arrival at the Temple and Cilghal returning from her assignment, Deanna made strides both short and long in opening herself to the Force; among her deepening awareness was the ability to identify the specific Force-echo a person emanated. No longer were her fellow Padawans and other Jedi a blank spot in her minds' eye as they had been when she first met Armis, Ryu or Jacen. With Armis as her interim teacher and in learning of her new home away from home, Deanna had surprisingly little time to add to her personal log each day, and those entries she made were usually succinct and to the point. The day she was to meet with Cilghal saw Deanna once again in the elevator going to the top of the center spire of the Temple and the Council Chambers therein. As she exited the elevator, she had already felt the familiar presence of Michelle Karú waiting for her and was not surprised to see her standing there. What did surprise Deanna though was the sense of contentment coming from her fellow Starfleet member.

When Michelle turned to face Deanna from the painting on the wall that had her attention, a bright smile lit her face. "Deanna! Good to see you. How have you been?" Deanna's smile was enthusiastic as she accepted the hand that Michelle had extended, "I'm great Michelle! Thank you for asking. Do you know what's going on? I hadn't expected another summons to the Council chamber so soon. It's only been about two weeks or so." Michelle said, "Master Jaina told me that this is the official Padawan acceptance ceremony that everyone goes through with their first teacher and in time, if and when they become teachers themselves, with their Padawans. She told me it's little more than a simple mental bond between teacher and student so that one can get a general sense of the others' wellbeing."

Before Deanna could say anything, the Council doors opened. The two women entered the Council room itself without hesitation. As they entered, they could see several of the council seats were now occupied both physically and for those Council members who were off-world at the time, by holographic representations of their owners. They saw Master Luke sitting in his seat in the circle. Next to him were his wife Mara and several others, among them, both Jacen and Jaina Solo. Some Council members were human, some not; as the doors closed silently behind Michelle and Deanna, Luke spoke, "I bid you welcome. The Council is gathered here today both actual and virtual to meet our two newest Padawan Learners, and to formalize their status as such. Who speaks for these two?"

Jaina stood from her seat, walked over to Michelle and put a hand on her right shoulder. "I speak for this one. I will take Michelle Karú as my Padawan Learner. In her, I freely give of my knowledge in the Force and the Jedi Way, until such time as she is ready for the Trials." Even though Michelle knew that the speech was purely ceremonial, she was still surprised when she felt a gentle tendril of Force energy from Jaina's mind touch her mind and gently link them together. Luke looked around to his fellow Council members and said, "Is there anyone who would dispute this?" When no one spoke, he said, "Then it is as it should be. Your Padawan Learner, Michelle Karú will be."

Returning to her Council seat with Michelle standing close by, Luke turned his blue gaze to Deanna. From the corner of her eye, Deanna saw a female Mon Calamari rise from her seat. Deanna only knew it to be Cilghal because she had accessed the current roster of the Jedi Council from the terminal in her room. Cilghal came up to Deanna and said in her gravelly, yet still feminine voice, "Much empathic ability do I sense in you. I think we shall get along quite well." Placing a flipper-like hand on Deanna's right shoulder like Jaina had done with Michelle, she said, "I speak for this one. I will take Deanna Troi as my Padawan Learner. In her, I freely give of my knowledge in the Force and the Jedi Way, until such time as she is ready for the Trials." Deanna felt the tendril of Force energy from Cilghal and allowed the link just as Michelle had with Jaina. Again, Luke looked around to his fellow Council members and said, "Is there anyone who would dispute this?" When no one spoke, he said, "Then it is as it should be. Your Padawan Learner, Deanna Troi will be."

When it was done and Cilghal returned to her seat with Deanna close by, Luke said, "These proceedings are closed. May the Force be with us all."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

As Picard and Beverly bid farewell to Michelle and Deanna, they boarded the airbus with Leia Organa-Solo, her husband Han and the wookie Chewbacca. The airbus merged with the nearest traffic flow going their direction; looking around him at the continuous city that stretched from horizon to horizon made Picard feel very small. In his travels, he thought he had seen large cities, but none of them even began to compare to the city-planet he found himself on now. In contrast to the vista of metal, glass and other building materials before him, even the largest of the cities he had seen before were little more than quaint, provincial villages.

Turning to Leia, he said, "Your highness, I familiarized myself with Coruscant from the data-banks aboard the Redemption on my way here, but can you tell me about it from the point of view of someone who has lived here?" Leia turned her eyes to Picard from the question she had just answered from Beverly and said with a smile, "I think you and my brother Luke would enjoy debating about points of view. Coruscant has been the socio-political center for our entire galaxy for as long as we have recorded history for. It has been and always will be. No one knows how long ago sentient life settled here or for how long it has been the seat of whatever government was in power at the time. In the days of the Old Republic to the turbulence of the civil war when Palpatine renamed it Imperial Center, to our current times of the New Republic, Coruscant has existed. Luke once told me about when he first met See Threepio and was asked by him what planet he was on. He told me that he told Threepio, 'If there's a bright center to the universe, you're on the planet that is farthest from it,' even there on the outer rim where Luke had grown up, Coruscant was known as the center of things."

"From my point of view, living here is no easier or harder for me than living on my homeworld of Alderaan before it was destroyed by the first Death Star. I've always been in cities large and small, from my earliest conscious childhood memories. People of all races are born here, they live, start families of their own, and die all in the fullness of time and still Coruscant exists." Han spoke then, "What Leia says about the whole point of view thing is right on the mark. I don't really know _where_ I was born exactly. On Correlia somewhere is all I know, but my earliest conscious memories are of living aboard ship and going to a planet to run one kind of scam or another. For me, living here was a real adjustment since I lived on a ship for most of my early life. I joined the Imperial Academy to get away from my roots, to try and make my own way in the galaxy but ended up living on a ship again. The only difference was that I owned the ship and freely chose to live on it and travel wherever there were credits to be made."

Chewbacca woofed in laughter and spoke; as he did, Emerald came over to stand next to Picard to render translation. "[Brother-Han is too modest. While he has never been as comfortable as Sister-Leia, he loves living here in the thick of things. Back in our smuggling days, I lost count of the times that Brother-Han was always talking about making that one big score that would set him up for life and he could then live in any city of any planet he wanted. As for myself, my life-debt to Brother-Han makes anywhere he is, home to me though I do miss the tranquility of the forests on my homeworld Kashyyyk from time to time.]"

Han and Leia both chuckled out loud when Chewbacca growled something else that sounded rather terse. Emerald said, "Forgive me Chewbacca. I didn't mean to put words in your mouth but I _am_ a protocol droid and all I did is to render your point of view in terms more fitting to the diplomatic tenor of the conversation. There really was no cause to threaten violence." Picard looked on at the laughing people in front of him and over to his droid, "Violence Emerald?" Emerald turned her head to Picard and said, "Yes sir. Chewbacca said that if I ever make another Threepio spin to his words, he would pull my arms from their sockets and beat me with them until I ceased functioning." Picard looked back towards Han as he said, "Not to worry Admiral. Chewbacca was only saying, in his own way, that he didn't appreciate your droid changing the exact content of his words although I have to say it was essentially correct, that translation."

During this exchange, the ziggurat that was the Imperial Palace slowly came into view. Beverly gasped out loud as she saw the sheer scope of the building and said, "That's where we'll be staying?! A person would need their own site-to-site transporter just to get around. How does anyone do it?" Leia looked back to Beverly and said, "It _is_ impressive when you first see it but it's actually easier to do than you might think. There are several elevators on each floor and those sections of the palace that aren't in use at this time, and there are quite a few of them, are completely sealed from outside and are almost under constant surveillance from specialized probe droids inside to ensure that no one can sneak in. Only very special V.I.P.'s like you Admiral Picard and a few other Ambassadors at Large live in the diplomatic wings. Even though I haven't been in office as the Chief of State of the New Republic for many years now, as a token of gratitude from the New Republic, my family and I which includes my brother Luke, his wife Mara, their son Ben, Chewbacca, Han, myself and our children, Jacen his wife Tenel Ka, Jaina, Anakin and his fiancée Tahiri Veila all have apartments set aside for our use whenever we need them. As flattering as the gesture is, we hardly ever use them. Luke, Mara and Ben usually stay in the Temple as do Jaina, Jacen and Anakin when they're not on assignment for the Order. Han and I maintain an apartment of our own elsewhere in the main city, as does Chewbacca."

As the airbus slowed down to enter one of the docking ports, Picard's head tipped further and further back as he looked up and up and still further up at the exterior walls of the Imperial Palace. When the airbus landed, he and Beverly went to pick up the bags they brought with them when some valet droids entered the compartment and picked them up before their owners. Picard was about to object when Beverly said softly to him, "Remember Jean-Luc, this is how things are done here. Just remember what you told Armis, when in Rome do as the Romans." Picard nodded his head and withdrew his objection before it was voiced.

With a parting kiss, Han bade Leia goodbye, shook Picard's and Beverly's hands again and left with Chewbacca in tow to take care of things elsewhere. Leia led the way to the nearest bank of elevators and when the party entered and the doors closed, she punched the buttons to the diplomatic wing. After a few minutes of both vertical and horizontal motion, the door opened. Picard and Beverly followed closely behind Leia with Emerald bringing up the rear. They stopped at the third door on the right from the elevator. Leia said, "Admiral Picard, there are a variety of ways to code your rooms to you and your wife. There are standard code cylinder, biometric and voice print authorization. Take your pick. This door will enter directly into the main living area. Your personnel effects have already been moved here. Palace Security has already swept your rooms and your private office for listening devices and found nothing."

Jean-Luc and Beverly chose code cylinders as their method of entry and entered their new residence. When they did, Picard was in mild shock at the amount of space, equivalent to a combination of the Enterprise's bridge, ready room, conference room and then some, laid end to end with no dividing walls between them. Leia pointed out the main living area, bedrooms, 'fresher station and kitchen to the pair and said, "Supplies have already been provided and stored in the kitchen and pantry. Whenever you need anything replaced or if you need something that wasn't thought of in the initial planning stage, please don't hesitate to ask the main computer or your protocol droid. As part and parcel of your tenure here as Ambassador at Large there will be no cost to you or the Federation of Planets for anything, so please make yourself at home. You have a private office adjacent to the main living area right over there," Leia pointed to a red door as she spoke. "Your office has a dedicated terminal that allows access to the planetary network and you can also view unclassified Senate proceedings from there as well. Later this week when you go to your first Senate gathering, you'll be in the Jedi Order's platform with me where you can be properly introduced to the assembled Senators. Later, you'll have your own platform from which to observe the proceedings whenever you wish; if I might make a suggestion at this time Admiral?"

Leia could sense in the Force that Picard was nearing a point of informational overload by this time as he said, "Please do your highness! I could use any suggestions you have to offer." Leia smiled and said, "For tonight, rest; have a quiet dinner with your wife, maybe take in a movie on the holonet in the main living room and relax. Starting tomorrow, you can begin interviewing applicants for your Chief of Staff and other aides. You have all week to settle in so please don't feel as though you have to have _everything_ organized and in place until you're good and ready. Once your staff is selected and in place, they will keep you abreast of events that concern you as well as begin circulating your name in the diplomatic circles. I'll leave you to begin settling in." Handing over a piece of flimsiplast she said, "Here's my private comlink. Feel free to ask for my assistance whenever you need it. Also, I'll organize a dinner engagement with your former crewmates, Deanna and Michelle after you've been introduced in the Senate and they've had a chance to be assigned a Master. Once you get used to everything here, I think you'll enjoy your time here very much. For now, have a good night and I'll check back with you in a few days to see how you're settling in."

On her way out, Leia turned to both Jean-Luc and Beverly and said, "Two last things before I go, one, _do_ check out the sunset. You have a small balcony facing the sunset and two, may the Force be with you." With that, Leia left the two slightly bewildered people to begin the new chapter of their lives.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

Jean-Luc woke up on the morning of the seventh day of the preparatory period. Beverly lay next to him still sound asleep. For a moment he was disorientated by the lack of the feel of the impulse drive around him but then he remembered he wasn't on the Enterprise any longer, but on Coruscant, the capital planet of the New Republic. Today was his official introduction to the Galactic Senate.

The final selection of his personal staff as the Ambassador at Large to the Federation had gone much smoother than he'd anticipated. His primary Aide was a Twi'lek male named Koni Komax whose talents in organizational logistics had moved him to the mid-level diplomatic pay-grades sooner than many of his contemporaries who had entered the Diplomatic Corps at the same time. His would be the unenviable task of social calendar scheduling and communications routing. As an Ambassador at Large, Jean-Luc also had a twelve person security detail, six for him and six for Beverly which ran the gambit of species from human to Zabrak, male and female both, since their respective duties would see them working apart more often as not. Neither Jean-Luc nor Beverly knew though that Leia had discreetly asked for and gotten one Noghri apiece to shadow them for the first six months of their tenure on Coruscant as an extra precaution.

Carefully getting out of bed so as not to disturb Beverly, Jean-Luc put a robe on, used the 'fresher and went into the kitchen to begin breakfast. It had been decided that their daily breakfast routine would continue regardless of the newer and more complex duties, and it had so far been a good decision. As Jean-Luc was just about to serve, Beverly entered the dining area to set the table. For the first two mornings after their arrival, Emerald had tried to be of service but only ended up getting in the way. Jean-Luc had decided that though it may have been commonplace in his and Beverly's new home for droids to do such things, he and his wife would continue just as they had for so many years aboard ship and set the table themselves and so, Emerald had been unofficially banished to his personal office next door to await his summons to begin her duties of the day whatever they may be.

"How do you feel Jean-Luc?" asked Beverly over breakfast a short time later. He took a breath, grinned humbly and said, "Like a Cadet about to graduate from Academy." Beverly laughed lightly. "Believe it or not Jean-Luc; I have trouble seeing you as a nervous cadet. There have been times when it seems as though you emerged from the Academy a full Captain." Jean-Luc laughed this time, "Believe it Beverly. I must have gotten such a case of nerves, I was sick two or three times before I even left my room that day; but when I received my Ensign pip and my Scroll of Commission, the nerves went away almost as fast as one of your hyposprays. Fortunately for me now, with the passing of time and the gaining of experience, I'm only nervous now, not sick. That being said, let's clean up the table and get ready, shall we?" Beverly stood up and said, "Surely."

Jean-Luc and Beverly, both in dress uniform entered the air-car docking bay with Emerald and Koni closely in tow and four of their Security detail escorting them, two in front, two in back. They could see Leia Organa-Solo waiting for them in her Jedi robes and lightsaber on her belt. Greeting them as they came to stand in front of her, she said, "Good morning Admiral, Doctor. I'm sorry I couldn't stop by like I said I would to see how you were settling in. I hope everything went well." Jean-Luc said, "Thank you for your concern Highness, but your apology, while appreciated, is unnecessary. The final selection of my staff went smoother than I thought. In fact, I'd like to introduce you to my Aide, Koni Komax. Koni, this is Jedi Leia Organa-Solo, the representative of the Jedi Order to the Senate" Koni bowed at the waist and said in slightly accented Basic, "Greetings your highness. It is a great honor to meet you in person at last." Leia returned the bow and said, "I've heard your name in the diplomatic circles, Koni, you come highly recommended and I'm sure you will do the Diplomatic Corps. proud with your service to Ambassador Picard and his wife Beverly."

Koni's naturally pale skin darkened a little at the praise as Leia turned back to face Jean-Luc and Beverly and said, "The air-car is ready and the Senate should be moving onto New Business just as we enter the platform. This was planned as such so don't be concerned that you've missed anything vital. Shall we go then?" When the two nodded yes, they preceded Leia onto the air car. Two of their Security entered last while the other two got into a pair of small speeders to take up escort duties, one in front and one behind. The trip to the Senate was a short one that went without incident. As the air-car landed, the Security got out first to sweep the area and take up flanking positions around the party. Picard didn't even notice the walk from the docking bay to the entrance of the platform that was assigned to Leia as the representative of the Jedi Order. Picard's Security detail spread into the corridor around the entrance portal while Picard took another breath and entered through the door just as a greatly amplified voice said, "The Galactic Senate will now hear all New Business at this time." Beverly firmly grasped Picard's hand as he swore involuntarily when he saw the assembled body of the Galactic Senate of the New Republic, "Mon dieu!"

As Jean-Luc and Beverly sat down, Leia approached the front of the platform, flipped a switch that signaled the desk of the Chief of State that she was requesting the floor. The Chief of Staff to the President of the Senate acknowledged the signal and said, "The honorable representative of the Jedi Order has the floor at this time." The platform smoothly rose on its repulsors and hovered into the center of the Senate bowl. Leia activated her own voice amplifier and said, "Mr. President, fellow representatives, I bring before this august body today, the Ambassador at Large from the United Federation of Planets, Admiral Jean-Luc Picard and his wife Beverly Crusher-Picard. Both have traveled far from their homeworld to be here today. I hope you will join me in welcoming them to our assembly today. Now, with your permission Mr. President, I would like to turn the floor over to Ambassador Picard."

When the President, a Rodian nodded his head, Picard could see the light reflecting in the multi-faceted eyes. When Picard stood up, he tugged at the hem of his uniform unconsciously, took Leia's place at the front of the platform, Emerald standing nearby to render any translations, and said, "It is an enormous honor to be here today to speak with you. I bring greetings from the United Federation of Planets to you Mr. President and to all the honorable representatives gathered here today. I hope with all my being, to help begin an era of peaceful expansion. I also hope to enter into scientific, economic, societal and diplomatic relations that will resonate down through the generations of both our societies. I represent a body of many worlds, languages and traditions. While the Federation is much smaller and younger than the New Republic, I believe we will be able to learn from each other and to peacefully coexist in ways as yet unfathomed and I eagerly look forward to meeting and speaking with any and all interested parties to begin negotiations of trade, science and education."

The President stood and spoke in his native tongue, which Emerald dutifully translated, "[In my capacity as President of the New Republic, I welcome you and your mate to the Galactic Senate, Admiral Picard. I too look forward to opening formal ties with the United Federation of Planets and I also am of the same frame of mind as you when I say that I agree with your hopeful words of peaceful coexistence and cooperative learning. Together, let us usher in an unprecedented era of prosperity for both our societies.]" When the President resumed his seat and Picard his, the collective body of the Senate erupted into thunderous applause. As the platform resumed its place on the tier, the sound rolled across his awareness and when Beverly took his hand in hers again, Jean-Luc Picard knew himself to be in the right place at the right time.

The End


End file.
